Call me American

Abdi Nor Iftin's 'Call Me American' offers a brutal, beautiful, and utterly essential account of his life in war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia, and his tireless pursuit of a new beginning in the United States. From his childhood, marked by the constant threat of violence, starvation, and the rise of al-Shabaab, Iftin’s voice emerges with an astonishing clarity, refusing to be silenced or defined solely by his suffering. He weaves a narrative that is intensely personal yet profoundly universal, exploring what it means to hold onto humanity when everything around you conspires to strip it away, all while clinging to the distant dream of America through bootleg Hollywood films and BBC broadcasts.

The book excels in its vivid, often heartbreaking, portrayal of daily life under extremist rule, painting a picture of a city and a culture struggling to maintain a semblance of normalcy amidst chaos. Iftin’s descriptions are not merely reportage; they are deeply felt experiences, bringing to life the fear, the resilience, and the small acts of defiance that characterize his community. His decision to learn English by obsessively watching American movies and mimicking the dialogue becomes a powerful metaphor for his relentless drive, a self-taught, desperate attempt to bridge an impossible cultural chasm and claim a piece of a world he’s only ever seen on screen.

What truly elevates this memoir is Iftin's extraordinary ability to render complex geopolitics through the lens of individual experience. He doesn't just tell us about civil war or fundamentalism; he shows us its devastating impact on families, friendships, and personal aspirations. His harrowing escape attempts, his time in a refugee camp, and his eventual lottery win for a U.S. visa are recounted with a gripping immediacy that makes the reader feel every setback and every glimmer of hope. It’s a masterclass in making the distant and abstract painfully real, forcing us to confront the human cost of global instability.

However, 'Call Me American' occasionally suffers from a narrative pacing issue, particularly in the latter third as Iftin navigates the complexities of the immigration process and settlement in America. The urgency and visceral detail that characterize his life in Somalia sometimes give way to a slightly more conventional, almost procedural account of bureaucratic hurdles. While understandable given the shift in his circumstances, it occasionally dilutes the raw, immediate power that defines the book's earlier, more harrowing sections, making some passages feel more like a checklist of obstacles overcome rather than a deeply felt continuation of his emotional journey.

Ultimately, 'Call Me American' is a triumph of spirit and storytelling. It serves as a necessary counter-narrative to reductive stereotypes about refugees and immigrants, presenting a nuanced portrait of a man who, despite enduring unimaginable hardship, never loses his capacity for wonder, gratitude, or ambition. Iftin’s journey is a powerful reminder of the enduring allure of the American dream, not as a mythical ideal, but as a tangible promise of safety and opportunity, a dream he fought for with every fiber of his being, and one he eloquently articulates for us all.