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Foreign Soil

Maxine Beneba Clarke

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What Members Thought

Jun 04, 2014 Michael Livingston rated it really liked it

4.5. This is a lovely collection of stories - bleak, inspiring and tragic, with flashes of humour. Clarke tackles settings as diverse as Jamaica, Mississippi, London, Footscray and Uganda, but focusses on similar characters throughout - hard up people, resisting society's crushing pressure. The highlights are many, but the first and last stories really capture the strengths of this collection. ...more

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Feb 21, 2025 Rhoda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a collection of short stories with common themes of displacement and being a bit on the outer. The ‘foreignness’ changes in each story, with settings in Australia, the UK, the US and Jamaica. And while the overarching theme is ‘foreignness’ as previously stated, these range from excluded through to mistreated.

For the most part, these stories were impactful and moving. The author has a lovely writing style and has the ability to hook the reader in right from the beginning. The range of s ...more

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Sep 11, 2019 Kim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: short-stories, aww2019

This is quite possibly the best short-story collection I've ever read.
Each one packs a punch and left me thinking for some time afterwards.
My favourite of her work yet. Such a terrific writer with a great voice.
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Jun 17, 2014 Lauren rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015

This was so overdue at the library I had to return it, before finishing the last two stories, but it was so good I am going to confidently give it 4 stars already/anyway. Definitely want to read them later though. Such different, contrasting voices and characters in each story, from various minorities and/or largely ignored/mistreated and/or the less often heard perspectives, but each one is told very well, so effortless they seem ordinary and strong and terribly sad.

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