I hope this book thrills and inspires you, no matter where you are from. And I hope it offers community.
Introduction, Alien Nation – Sofija Stefanovic
- Themes so far:
- Immigration
- memory
The Nostalgia Bug short story by Andre Aciman makes me feel so seen. I am not technically an immigrant (they used to call us third-culture kids), but so much of this resonated with me as if I’ve always been an alien in my birth culture.
We are, as we realize over time, always in two places at the same time. We could be walking on a street, and suddenly, a scent–oh yes, i know this scent.
The Nostalgia Bug by Andre Aciman, Alien nation, edited by Sonja Stefanovic
Yes, I know that scent. For me, It smells like gasoline and stale cigarettes, a certain warmth in the air, the sound of car tires hitting a pothole, and I’m back in a Ukrainian taxi leaving the airport for my destination. It smells like sun on wheat, borsch, and my friend’s shampoo when she hugs me. Just for a moment, I am back in her flat and the refrigerator is making nightmare-tractor noises, and we’re laughing because it startled us. I’m on a park bench at 3 A.m. with no where to go for the night, getting lost in the stars and the moon-rise over old Soviet flats. I constantly feel as if I’m walking in two places at once. Andre Aciman understands this. (Click here for another blogger’s perspective on this author.) Or rather, I understand a little. Like a small Vin diagram overlap kind of little.
‘Til next time,
— Shalanosa
Shalanosa's Sanctuary 