“Foreign Soil” and other stories is a collection of short stories by Maxine Beneba Clarke. The short stories consist of themes such as gender, identity & race, bias & stereotype, social justice, and family & relationships. The main characters in these short stories endure the crisis, but the author gives readers hope of resolving these misfortunes. There is a constant shifting of rhythm and voice within these stories exposing readers to the continual puzzlements experienced by characters. The author expresses the characters’ accented and idiomatic language when speaking English to explore the struggle faced by many people who admire foreign culture and language.
In “Foreign Soil,” the story is centered on Ange, a hairdresser, who is lured to Uganda by Mukasa. Ange and Mukasa get into a relationship in Australia. Mukasa convinces Ange to go with him in Uganda. In Australia, their relationship is good, but when they land in Uganda Mukasa becomes cruel. The story shows how children may experience struggles after defying their parents’ advice against prospects and preconceptions. Ange is left devastated, isolated, and alienated in a foreign country. The author also uses these stories to explore the power of language.
The author uses a non-linear narrative in some of these stories to demonstrate the multifarious link between the past and present lives of the characters. For instance, in the story of “The Stilt Fishermen of Kathaluwa,” Asanka leaves his home country in pursuit of the good life in Australia. However, life becomes harder in Australia against his expectations. The trauma suffered by Asanka shows the pain and distress experienced by refugees in foreign countries.
