Jaguar: A Story of Africans in America

Drawing from decades of African experiences, Stoller, an anthropologist, delivers a complex novel that follows a pair of Nigerian newlyweds in the vicissitudes of life in Africa and in America. Issa Boureima leaves his new wife, Khadija, to travel to America in hopes of becoming a ""jaguar,""--West African slang for a savvy entrepreneur who can ride trends to turn a profit. Hawking Malcolm X caps and kente cloth bags, Issa moves between African-American street fairs and expos in Harlem and New Jersey. Along with culture shock, a newfound community of African expat ""jaguars"" and a fascination with multicultural Americans, Issa has a recurring problem. He and his wife, both Muslims, are committed to their ""modern"" marriage, that is, a union that allows Khadija to work in the marketplace in Africa and forbids Issa from taking on any more wives. While Khadija struggles and thrives with her dry goods shop, Issa acquires a stable of American lovers, feeling guilty and dishonest. Since Issa sends sizable sums of money back to his family, Khadija faces the growing resentment of his family over her business and independence. Stoller adds subtle power and depth to the story as he shows her increasing loneliness and despair when she learns that her husband plans to apply for political asylum in America. Her life changes when she meets a kind and sensitive Arab shopkeeper called Yusef. Stoller's uncomplicated prose scores by choosing poignancy and realism over sentimentality and melodrama. The book's resolution does not follow the predictable route, satisfying in its wise revelations about the difficulties of the expatriate life and the human need for love. (Dec.)