Amulya Malladi grew up in India, then went to the United States to study and while there, married a man from Denmark. They went to live in Denmark in 2002, where Malladi came to learn about Afghan immigrants to Denmark, fleeing the Taliban. This book is about one such Afghan immigrant to Denmark and the difficulties she faced in going to live in a society that was completely alien to the society she came from in Afghanistan, including a new language that sounded like the buzzing of bees. The book describes many differences that Raihana faced, and the difficulty she had in coping with those differences. The book also describes those Afghans who wanted to cling to their past social norms and their tension both with Danish society and with other Afghans who wanted adopt some of the social norms of their new country. The book also describes the tensions in the Danish society in coming to accept the new immigrants from Afghanistan. In addition, the book describes the inner turmoil of a young woman faced with the loss of her husband, her move to this new country, and her own continued growth, regardless of her place of residence. I suspect that many immigrants from all over the world face similar difficulties, no matter where they come from or which country they immigrate to, including the United States. I liked this book. Malladi informs through the means of a story. Her story, like real life, includes more sorrow than joy, in the end, coming to a compromise living situation, as so many immigrants do, letting go of some of her old society, but not fully integrating into her new society, living out her life in a state of limbo, neither here nor there.
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