Budhos, Marina (2006). Ask me No Questions. NY: Athenaeum. ISBN: 1416903518. 162 pages.
This is a story that one seldom--if ever--hears: when we think of the events of 9/11 and the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, we most often think of the impact of these actions on American citizens; Budhos' novel tells of the impact of the attack on non-Americans--specifically, illegal Muslim aliens and their families. When, in an attempt to gain asylum in Canada, Nadira's father is detained by the U.S. office of Homeland Security, Nadira's mother decides to stay near his detention facility in Vermont while Nadira and her sister, Aisha, are sent back to New York to live with relatives. Though the family has been living in the U.S. illegally since Nadira was seven years old, only recently have they started to feel the real pressures of American hatred of illegals, specifically Muslim illegals. This short novel is rich with feeling; Budhos presents a side of American life most of us don't (or won't) see and manages to engender sympathy without overwhelming romance. Though the focus of the novel is on Nadira and her sister's attempts to continue life "as normal" while communicating with lawyers, INS and a loose network of other aliens about their father and his status, Budhos works in the ethical issue of detainment and the treatment of detainees. Just as she shuns romance in her depiction of Nadira's situation, Budhos also presents information about detainment even-handedly, substituting overt moralizing for grim but quiet depiction of truths. The recent news from Abu-Gihrab regarding the unethical treatment of prisoners is the obvious lead-in to this novel. That Budhos gets us to see beyond our national myopia regarding 9/11 is remarkable as well, but potentially incendiary. |
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