Him, me, Muhammad Ali / Randa Jarrar

The lunatic's eclipse -- Building girls -- Lost in freakin' Yonkers -- How can I be of use to you? -- A sailor -- Grace -- Testimony of Malik, prisoner #287690 -- Accidental transients -- Asmahan -- Him, me, Muhammad Ali -- The story of my building -- A frame for the sky -- The life, loves, and adventures of Zelwa the Halfie.

In her first story collection, Jarrar employs a particular, rather than rhetorical approach to race and gender. Thus we have "How Can I Be of Use to You," with its complicated relationship between a distinguished Egyptian feminist and her young intern, demonstrating that gender politics are never straightforward, and both generations-old and new-take advantage of each other. There's also a healthy dose of magic surrealism, as in the wild and witty story "Zelda the Halfie" which follows a breed of half Ibexes/half humans and their various tribulations. The writing is peppered with gorgeous imagery: a moon reflected in an ice cream scoop, breath that runs ahead of its body, and two apartments in a high rise whose tenants precisely mirror each other.