Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

I was given a review copy of the Migrant Report by the author, Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, in exchange for an honest review.

The Migrant Report is a wonderfully rich tale set in the Arabian desert, starring a cast of delightful characters that centers around the struggles of immigrant workers and some of the terrible conditions they endure. The story centers around Manu, a young Nepali man who immigrates to the capital to search for work. His sister, Sanjana, who already works in the capital as show more a housemaid for a wealthy American family, sets him up with a plane ticket and a sponsor, so that when he arrives he will be given an office job with an excellent salary. That way, the two siblings could send back plenty of money to help feed their younger siblings and their ailing mother. But things begin turning sour right away as Manu's passport is confiscated at the airport by his company rep, and he's forced to sign a contract in a language he can't read. When he arrives in his new home, he discovers his job is that of a labourer building infrastructure. His employers won't pay him, he can't leave the compound, and any complaints are met with punishment. While Sanjana feverishly struggles to hunt him down, it takes more than one person to take down a corrupted system of human trafficking.

I fell in love with this book right from the start. Though the cover seems a little bland and the pitch on the back of the book is a tad confusing, the story itself is incredibly strong and well-done. I fell in love with each character, from Manu and Sanjana, to Ali, the police officer with one testicle, to Maryam, the feminist journalism student trapped in a culture that wants to tame her, to Paul and Cindy, the rich American couple struggling to balance their marriage with Paul's work. Every character was well-crafted and had their own conflicts, flaws, and motivations that all converged and complicated the main conflict. The Migrant Report shows us the beauties and shortcomings of the Arabian Gulf through the eyes of varying people who are entangled up in this horrible-- and unfortunately real-- system. At first I worried that there were too many POV characters, but Rajakumar balances each one with finesse, so the story flows clearly and every voice is necessary to the story as a whole.

Along with characters, this book balanced all the plot threads wonderfully. With so many characters, each with their own personal conflicts, it can often be difficult to keep everything straight, let alone relevant to the story. But each little tidbit-- from Daniel and Sharif smoking hashish, to Cindy handing out blankets and bibles to the workers, to Maryam's parents growing insistence to find her a husband-- contributed to the main conflict with Manu. The tension and pacing were both steady and consistent, but not overwhelming. The book moved at a pleasant pace and the tension was just where it needed to be. This book didn't try to grab you by the throat and strangle you with intensity like some, but I found myself just as hooked to The Migrant Report all the same, simply because I loved the story, characters, and culture.

The only problem I really had was the ending. Though the main conflict with Manu is wrapped up and most of the story is dealt with, it ends on a cliff hanger that literally had me flipping pages to see if there was a chapter missing. It felt like a very abrupt ending, leaving some threads unresolved. And while I can admit cliff hangers are a stylistic choice for a lot of writers, personally I believe in the stance of "every book should stand on its own." I believe this rings especially true with the initial book of a series, and then cliff hangers at the end of later books are not as much of a concern. However, despite this rule the only real reason it bothered me was because I wanted more! There were a lot of questions that I was left with at the end-- how will Maryam's paper turn out? What will become of Sanjana and Manu's relationship? What's going on with Cindy and her flirting around?-- and though this is a great way to lead into a sequel, there were simply so many that it left me feeling as though the story stopped too soon.

There were also some accents put into the dialogue that I found a little off-putting. Again, this is a stylistic choice, as some writers really love making their dialogue as authentic to how people talk as possible. But I found the accents and broken English a little off since throughout the book, most characters were speaking various languages, some of which were their first language. I felt like it was added to show which characters were speaking in unfamiliar languages to them, but it was unclear if that was the case and didn't really add anything. Since most of the time they were speaking their native tongues and having things translated, having that bit of broken English only made it harder to read.

Finally, I would hope that in future books, Rajakumar adds in a bit more description, because I loved the landscape and culture and wanted to immerse even further. I wanted to feel the sun on my face, taste sand on the air, and feel the weight of the Abaya. All the descriptions in the book were wonderful and well-written, so more would make the book just that much richer.

All in all, 4/5 stars. Can I read the sequel, like, now? show less

I am an archaeology graduate. All I know of Qatar is that a lot of people I've met on excavations have worked out there - and that is the shameful extent of my knowledge. I felt that I really should know more about the country, since there seems to be a lot of archaeology going on there: hence my choice of reading From Dunes to Dior over Love Comes Later, plus the fact that I really enjoy memoirs.

Mohana sets up the perfect introduction for those who, like me, know absolutely nothing of show more Qatar - yet she avoids the easy mistake of giving us too much detailed information at once. An interesting mix of demographics, geography and history combined with a fluid writing style make for an easy-to-read background of the country, that doesn't read anything like a textbook despite all the facts and numbers. Whilst the topics covered are 'basic', this doesn't mean they are any less interesting - Mohana has a true talent for discussing everyday occurrences and creating a real story out of them.

It is fascinating just how multi-cultural Qatar actually is - Qataris are a minority in their own country - despite the strict citizenship laws (which are reminiscent of ancient Rome, pre-Caracalla). Mohana clearly points out and dismisses stereotypes, yet her essays show that racism is still quite evident, which is sad in this day and age.

A mix of serious and light-hearted essays balance the book out - I particularly enjoyed a humorous one on Dunkin' Doughnuts. Mohana is a strong woman, making a life for herself in a country that alienates her for many reasons; her book is an intriguing study of cultural stereotypes and the mixing of cultures, as well as a brilliant introduction to Qatar. I did notice a few spelling errors, but nothing too major.

If you are a fan of memoirs or love reading about other cultures I would highly recommend this book. It is presented as a series of essays, but don't let that put you off - they are well written, humorous (where appropriate) and simply fascinating.

Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads. show less

Ten tales of the experiences not only immigrants both men and women, but those of American’s who happen to not be *sarcastic mock look of horror* who are not white! The stories within this collection had me smiling, laughing, frustrated, at times incensed.

Having read and been a part of some of Moha Doha’s social circles I was already well aware of her background and her style of writing in some form or another and I have read two of her and considered myself prepared for ten amazing show more literary shorts, I can say without a doubt she caught me way off gaurd.

Some of these tales fit what I had read, such as “Truth” which is a wake up call to a young woman who was raised with big brothers in America and her family, for the most part, is to her American-ized. She goes to University, is a bit snooty, doesn’t believe what she is reading about what she perceives is the truth about her families Indian Culture till one family gathering she learns a very hard lesson about truth and just how lucky she is. The style was tight and to the point and brilliantly presented.

“Food”, of course I am going to talk about this story. It is a story about attraction, about office relationships, about shame and tastes and it made me angry, hungry for curry and pizza with the works, and wanting to smack an idealistic character of the “office friend” who makes you feel like an idiot despite the fact you are the better employee. Who is popular with the co-workers around the water cooler, who is a friend, but not really a friend, and who has made you feel inferior? Who would have thought the issue of food could do this? Yes, sorry, I gone a bit off-track but as a writer of short stories, and a fan of The Canterbury Tales I am a bit obsessed with the proper use of the idealistic character. I adore it when someone can actual write in the prescribed formula and yet make it original. This tale was a favorite of mine… but was not my favorite in the collection, believe it or not!

“Weeds” is humorous, I adored it and can see why it is a favorite. Plus it reminded me of when I lived in Texas and didn’t understand why I needed to mow my grass all the time, I liked it a certain length and I adored Dandelions, heck I grew them in my garden because I love dandelion greens for my salads! It will make you think about some of those everyday things we take for granted. But it still was not my favorite, they all were amazing..

My favorite was Dasi, the first in the book. It is the story that grabbed me, shook me awake, made me cry in anger and memory and grateful that I was at least raped in America and that I had the mother-in-law experiences I have had. I realize this is wham bam harsh. There is no graphic descriptions, there is nothing to even make you, if you are a victim such as I, have any flash back PTSD related anything. It is therapeutic it is absolutely amazing as it walks you backwards in time old to young of the life of one girl who never really was allowed to become a woman… at least it read to me like this. You should go at least grab a sample read, and let us know what you think? Or for $2.99 get a copy for yourself.

5 of 5 stars, which I give out very little these days. This was much deserving. I recommend it to anyone, men and women alike. It is a book I want to order a hard copy of to give to friends as birthdays, and have a copy to have on my night stand. I will be re-reading this a lot, this is a collection which I can label as a classic read. show less

Secondo libro di una serie, la narrazione parte con un cadavere e un fidanzamento. Il cadavere è quello di una giovane insegnante americana che lavora negli emirati, e il fidanzamento è quello tra Maryam, studentessa universitaria di ceto elevato, e Ali, giovane investigatore della polizia di stato. Ragione di questo fidanzamento abbastanza fuori dagli schemi? I due si sono trovati insieme in un'occasione precedente, dando origine a una serie di eventi i cui strascichi percorrono tutta show more questa storia, nella quale la trama gialla è un pretesto per parlare di un mondo dove giovani donne di ceto elevato prima ricevono un'educazione internazionale, per essere poi costrette a rinchiudersi in casa, in balia della famiglia del marito prima ancora del marito stesso, in ruoli tradizionali che detestano.
E, mentre l'indagine sull'omicidio prosegue fino alla sua non scontata conclusione, Maryam comincia a scoprire che questo "marito per caso", al quale i genitori hanno ritenuto di affidarla un po' per punizione per aver rifiutato partiti più ambiziosi e un po' per evitare lo scandalo, forse è una sorte migliore di quella che avrebbe potuto aspettarsi.
Romanzo ben scritto, coi giusti tempi del romanzo giallo, e molto interessante per la conoscenza diretta di un modo di vivere che ci sembra lontano, eppure diventa ogni giorno più urgente comprendere.
Ringrazio Cameron Publicity & Marketing Ltd e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.

Second book in a series, the story starts with a dead body and an engagement. The corpse is that of a young American teacher working in the Emirates, and the engagement is between Maryam, university student of upper class, and Ali, a young investigator of the state police. Ground for this engagement quite out of the box? The two were found together on a previous occasion, giving rise to a series of events whose train runs throughout this story, in which the chriminal plot is an excuse to talk about a world where young upper-class women previously receive an international education, only to be then forced to shut theirselves in the house, at the mercy of her husband's family before the husband himself, in traditional roles they hate.
And while the murder investigation continues until its not obvious conclusion, Maryam begins to discover that this 'husband by chance', to which the parents have decided to entrust her a little as punishment for refusing more ambitious parties and a bit to avoid scandal, perhaps it's a better fate than she would have expected.
Novel well-written, with the mystery novel right times, and very interesting for the direct knowledge of a way of life that seems far away, yet it becomes daily more urgent to understand.
Thank Cameron Publicity & Marketing Ltd Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. show less