SCPL Online NonFiction Book Club discussion

When asked in an interview with Bloom (https://bloom-site.com/2019/09/24/fic...) about the way she structured The Ungrateful Refugee, particularly her use of the shifting, nonlinear timeline, Nayeri says, "The book had to be written this way." Nayeri goes on to explain that this structure allowed her to explore the themes of the refugee and migrant experience, and also the universality of these themes to demonstrate that "we are all migrants through time: as we move away from our childhood conceptions of home, as we become strangers to our best selves, as we are removed from the places where we were most authentically ourselves." What do you think of this observation? As you're reading The Ungrateful Refugee, I invite you to think about the themes being explored - such as the frustration and embarrassment of waiting. There is a lot to unpack here, but please feel free to share some of your initial thoughts!