Jaguar: A Story of Africans in America [Paperback]

Paul Stoller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0226775283 | ISBN-13: 978-0226775289 | Edition: 1

Issa Boureima is a young, hip African street vendor who sells knock-off designer bags and hats in an open-air market on 125th street in Harlem. His goal is to become a "Jaguar"—a West African term for a keen entrepreneur able to spot trends and turn a profit in any marketplace. This dynamic world, largely invisible to mainstream culture, is the backdrop of this timely novel.

Faced with economic hardship in Africa, Issa has left his home in Niger and his new wife, Khadija, to seek his fortune in America. Devout Muslims, the couple has entered into a "modern" marriage: Khadija is permitted to run her own business, and Issa has agreed not to take additional wives. Issa quickly adapts to his new surroundings, however, and soon attracts several girlfriends. Aided by a network of immigrants, he easily slips through gaps in the "system" and extends his stay in America indefinitely. Following a circuit of African-American cultural festivals across America, he marvels at African-Americans' attitudes toward Africa, and wonders if he'll ever return to Niger. Meanwhile, Khadija also struggles to make it—to become a "Jaguar"—as she combats loneliness, hostile in-laws, and a traditional, male-dominated society. The eventual success of her dry goods shop and her growing affection for a helpful Arab merchant make her wonder if she'll ever join Issa in America.

Drawing on his own decades of experience among Africans both in Niger and in New York, Paul Stoller offers enormous insight into the complexities of contemporary Africa. Alive with detail, Jaguar is a story of triumph and disappointment, of dislocation and longing, and of life lived in a world that no longer recognizes boundaries.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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,"AWest 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.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

An unusual premisethe life of a West African immigrant in Harlemis the best thing about this unfortunately slack first novel by Stoller, an American professor of anthropology whos written scholarly studies of Niger and its environs (In Sorcerys Shadow: A Memoir of Apprenticeship Among the Songhay of Niger, 1987, etc.). Issa Boureima, an enterprising Nigerien, has left his young wife Khadija at home with his own sprawling familygreedy layabouts inordinately proud that theyre direct descendants of Songhay kings. While Issa prospers as a jaguar (a West African term for an independent entrepreneur who moves into new territory and rapidly establishes himself), sending money and well- meant promises back to Niger, we observe (in juxtaposed parallel chapters) Khadijas growth from deferential helpmeet to strong, confident woman who breaks free from her in-laws haughty importunings (Before, a woman might sacrifice herself for her husbands family. But no longer) and likewise succeeds as a merchant. Thats about all that happens, in a story overloaded with simplistic contrasts between (brash) American and (politely passive) African manners and morals. Stoller concentrates on both Issas and Khadijas relations with sympathetic countrymen (and does, incidentally, offer an intriguing fragmentary portrayal of African street merchants in urban America), and varies his novels essentially repetitive actions only with such undeveloped (if promising) scenes as Khadijas unhappy confrontation with Issas posturing mother Hampsa (a character who wed like to have known better), Issas problems with INS regulations, and his trip to the Midwest (part of the American bush) for Chicagos Black Expo sales convention. Along the way, Stoller frequently interrupts the storys progress to lever in background exposition, not always keeping verb tenses quite exact enough to avoid creating some reader confusion. Which is too bad, because Issa and Khadija are, in their differing ways, potentially engaging characters, and their tale ought to have gripped the reader much more than it does. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (December 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226775283
• ISBN-13: 978-0226775289
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Stoller is an ethnographer, memoirist and novelist who has authored 11 books. His most recent work, a memoir, is called The Power of the Between: An Anthropological Odyssey, which was published in December of 2008 by the University of Chicago Press. He loves to hear and read good stories which inspires him to try to tell and write good stories. He is currently working on a new novel, The Sorcerer's Burden and is learning Spanish which he hopes to practice on his next trip to Ecuador.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Jaguar: A Story of Africans in America, July 17, 2007

By 

Mazin Alsulaili (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jaguar: A Story of Africans in America (Paperback)

Paul Stoller, author of Jaguar, is professor of anthropology at West Chester University. Stoller produced a novel about a newlywed African couple and their struggles, both economic and relationship wise, that takes advantage of his long anthropological study of African culture. The book is at times engaging, though it seems to follow a linear pattern that is sometimes self repeating. Jaguar also seemed sporadically infected with grammar mistakes, duplicate words and other writing mistakes.

Issa and Khadija are newlywed Africans, Issa a Songhay of noble birth, Khadija a commoner from a merchant family. Issa moves away to become a merchant and he finds Khadija in his travels and marries her, both to the great distaste of his snobbish family. Their marriage and life seem perfect while they are living in Abidjan. Issa makes an ample living and Khadija sells food at a stall outside their compound, but the fates conspire to change the economic conditions in Abidjan and this forces Issa to send Khadija away to his family while he travels to America for fortune and wealth. Economic hardships forced the couple to live great distances from each other, but the distance starts to take its toll on their marriage. Both start to wonder whether things will work out.

The book is split into sections, each containing a number of chapters. Each section details the actions and experiences of Issa or Khadija. The sections alternate in an attempt to seamlessly integrate the two separate lives, but sometimes the effect achieved was less seamless and clunkier than the author intended. The genre Jaguar falls under is called ethnographic fiction, which is defined as an ethnographic description written as a story, Jaguar certainly fits this description however the quality of ethnographic description comes as only shards of insightful looks into African culture.

Stoller uses unsophisticated prose and describes events simply, and in doing so keeps a sense of the urgency for the way both characters feels as they flesh out their lives and decide what decisions they will make. Some might feel Stoller's novel to be one dimensional, because at any time one feels like one could easily predict the direction of the book and the outcome.

The audience for this book is that of all the English speaking world, but more specifically for people wishing to learn more about African culture, or the struggles that transnational Africans face in America. Overall Jaguar was an enjoyable book that I had a hard time putting down. Though the story was very linear, it was enjoyable. The small pile of grammar mistakes did take a toll, often interrupting a compelling piece of writing, but in the end the book overcame its shortcomings. This book is recommend to anyone looking for a quick read that wants to learn more about African culture and how it interacts with American brashness.

4.0 out of 5 stars IWS266, July 17, 2007

By 

Tagried Salameh "Tagried" (US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jaguar: A Story of Africans in America (Paperback)

This book is a good book to pick up if one wants to get a look into how immigrant live after coming to America in search of business. The book is a fun read and really takes the reader into the life of this African man. The book gets more interesting in the end when the reader is asking does Issa stay in America? Will he go back to his wife in Niger? And the question that captures the reader the most is will Khadija survive her in-laws? The book is entertaining and really a good book on the life of immigrants and worth the read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Imperfect, but Good, July 17, 2007

By 

Stephanie Mckean "S. McKean" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jaguar: A Story of Africans in America (Paperback)

The writing style of Jaguar is very natural and reads easily. Stoller successfully incorporates the jargon of transnational vendors attempting to find a common language and common customs within their community, as well as that of Jaguars seeking to become a New York City "homeboy." Stoller uses frequent repetition from chapter to chapter; this in and of itself could serve to reinforce themes and keep the reader focused by reminding them of the bigger picture that the story represent. However, many times the repeated sentiments became redundant. It was important to the story to have Khadija continue to assert her love for Issa, because that is something that may have changed. It seems, however, as though every time that Khadija ponders Yusef she must point out that he is an Arab, exclaim upon how nicely he treats women, and state that she thinks he might like her. All of this is quite unnecessary, since the writing in between each of these thoughts clearly shows his customs are different, he respects Khadija, and that both of their actions indicate attraction.

This book also has an unimaginable number of editing errors. Excluding the "homeboy" jargon, which is of course intended to be in the colloquial, there are places throughout the book, mostly in the narration which is not intended to be colloquial, where articles or conjunctions are completely left out. It is easy to fill in the blank in these sentences, but the initial notice of these errors seriously detracts from the story. Less noticeable errors are also present, such as "an" instead of "and." Quite a few of these typos pop up, but are much less distracting.

Despite some cosmetic problems, this book is thoroughly successful in portraying the lives of West African vendors in New York City, as well as other metropolitan areas; the demonstration of the experiences of those back in West Africa is similarly successful. The main characters offer common experiences of the group, while supporting characters give the potential variations in experience. This work also reveals volumes-worth of information about the cultural, religious, and ethnic contexts of these lives. It manages to compound a type of experience into a medium-length novel that would take many more pages to pick apart and portray accurately in a non-fiction, purely scholarly piece. A good read even for highschoolers, this book is a must for any liberal arts student.