A Life Elsewhere by Segun Afolabi
Segun Afolabi’s A Life Elsewhere is a collection of seventeen short stories that investigate the themes of exile, migration, identity, and the search for belonging. The author, born in Nigeria and raised in various countries including Canada and Indonesia, draws on a global perspective to depict characters living in transit or navigating lives in foreign lands. The collection includes the story “Monday Morning,” which was awarded the 2005 Caine Prize for African Writing. Monday Morning The collection opens with “Monday Morning,” which follows a refugee family navigating their new life in London. The story begins with a young boy expressing a need to “piss” while walking with his parents through Regent’s Park on a Sunday. The father, seeking relief for his son, takes him to the edge of a lake, unaware that the locals are watching them with sour, narrowed eyes. The boy marvels at the steam rising from his own urine, finding it a new wonder in a place full of unfamiliar things. The family is currently residing at the Hotel Excelsior, which is actually a threadbare hostel filled with the noise and sorrow of many displaced people. The mother, who lost her hand in the violent conflict they …