Nonfiction: A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing by Mary-Alice Daniel

Let's be real: Today's title caught my attention because of the cover. It happens. But the description was also interesting. A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents by Mary-Alice Daniel is exactly that. Daniel chronicles her experience of moving from Nigeria, to England, and finally to the U.S, while never quite settling into one place for too long. It is the type of memoir I am often drawn to, where the author describes a place I am not incredibly familiar with, while also telling their story.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book in which Daniel begins her story in Nigeria, the place she was born, but has a complicated relationship with as far as her identity. While Daniel's family will leave Nigeria while she is still a young girl, she will return to the place she refers to as 'Back Home' a few times throughout her life. After moving to England, Daniel describes the feeling of not belonging in either of the two places she had lived, and that feeling only grows after moving once again, but this time to the U.S. Daniel also contributes several chapters of intricate knowledge of the Nigerian tribes of her father and mother. Included are also lessons on the history of Nigeria, religion, superstition, language, and the convention of naming. But at the center of everything is the idea of identity, and what we must all take into consideration when someone asks us who we are and where we are from.

My Verdict: I can certainly say my expectations were met. I was hoping to learn more about Nigeria as a country, and read about the experience of someone who saw themselves and their family as willing nomads, always moving from place to place. This book provides all of this to its readers, and a little more. Much like the concept of identity that Daniel explores, there is a lot to unpack in this book. Although events are told in a mostly linear fashion, Daniel often looks back at the places she has lived before, making connections to how they have contributed to where she is now. While some of the narrative became difficult to follow, and some of the history lessons were confusing, the book provides overall clarity to issues the country of Nigeria still faces, as well as how Daniel feels about her own history and identity. 

Favorite Moment: When Daniel describes the different ways her and her siblings handled their move from England to the U.S. I found the difference between how her and her brother handled it, as opposed to how her older sister handled it, incredibly believable. Looking back, the same was also true between my older brother and myself when our family encountered a significant change. 

Favorite Quote: "Although these movies were a decade out of date by the time I put their lessons to use, it's lucky that so many blockbuster movies in the '80s dealt specifically with curious circumstances that find one freakish character trying to fit in despite some flagrant obstacle or abnormality." 

Recommended Reading: The Impossible City by Karen Cheung is a memoir that explores the city of Hong Kong and the author's struggle to settle in a place whose history is incredibly complicated.