Lucy Mushita – Expat Blues

Presentation

Expat Blues, by Lucy Mushita, are anecdotes that combine depth and humor to address painful realities of a Black expatriate’s experience in a world characterized by stereotypes and racial prejudice.

In 37 anecdotes that span several decades and four continents, though primarily in France, the author explores, with mordant self-deprecation, the subtleties of a society in which language and words can be vehicles of both violence and misunderstanding. The narrative, which centers on the protagonist’s daily experiences punctuated by painful microaggressions, unveils a society that is plagued by latent racism, often concealed in seemingly innocuous attitudes.

With the ironic and provocative title ‘Expat Blues’, Mushita highlights the double standards of the term ‘expat’. The moniker is primarily reserved for whites residing in non-Western countries, while non-Westerners living in Western countries are more often perceived as immigrants or refugees. This terminological viewpoint is not merely a wordplay, but the whiff of racial inequalities and biased perceptions that persist in our society.

Expat Blues is also remarkable for its ability to use humor as a means of resilience in the face of difficulties. Laughter, far from being a weakness, is used as a powerful disarming tool in the face of prejudice. And by inviting us to laugh with her, Mushita, pushes us toward introspection about our own attitudes, language, beliefs and representation.

Expat Blues has coincidentally come out in a context where there are specific racial tensions and social divisions, made worse by the global crisis. Through Expat Blues, Mushita seems to be reiterating the significance of literature and inviting us to look in the mirror and examine our true selves, warts and all.

Expat Blues is a must read. While celebrating the human capacity to laugh and hope, even in a fragmented society, the book’s universal tone and approach successfully highlight the injustices of perception and prejudice.

I dare to dream that France, this old country of an old continent like Europe, which has just enshrined women’s right to abortion in its Constitution, will integrate literature written by women and people of color into its school textbooks. Because France owes the truth to its children. I trust this France that fears nothing. This confident France, which has been enriched and continues to be enriched by waves of immigration that have made and continue to make this country what it is. Marie Curie, Nina Ricci, Marc Chagall, Elsa Triolet, Joséphine Baker, Lino Ventura, Dalida, Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour, Carl Lagerfeld, Christine Ockrent, Jane Birkin, Alain Mabanckou, Hemley Boum, Tony Parker.

– Lucy Mushita, Expat blues, 2024

Information

Publication: Project’Iles, September 2024
Language: French
Rights: World French to Project’Iles, Portuguese (Brazil) rights sold
Genre: Short-stories
Extent: 130 p.

Rights inquiries: Here

A novelist and essayist, Lucy Mushita was born in Southern Rhodesia, and grew up in a small village during apartheid. She left Zimbabwe in 1986, for France, the United States and Australia – settled in Nancy before making Paris her home. Lucy Mushita currently lives between Paris and Sydney. She holds a MA in Creative Writing from Sydney University and taught Business English in several French multinationals, & universities.