The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears By Dinaw Mengestu

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu is a novel that addresses America in a way that is real and raw. Mengestu wastes no time diving into the struggles of an American immigrant. He starts with the title, being an excerpt from Dante’s Inferno and does not finish until the last sentence of the book. Mengestu not only talks about an immigrants struggles but also discusses stereotypes, lost dreams, death, loneliness, rejection, and of course romance. He is able to do all of this by portraying it through Sephas’ life. He leaves interpretation of Sepha’s feelings up to the reader, but throughout the novel it is clear that not everything is as easy as it seems, especially with being an American immigrant. I chose The Beautiful†¦show more content†¦The relationship is not just a friendship to Judith either. The part of the passage that stands out is â€Å"Her head didn’t land so much as it seemed to finally relent† (Mengestu 87) . Not only did Sepha need Judith, but Judith needed Sepha. She didn’t care that he was not born in America or that he was a store owner but all she needed was for him to be there for her. What is the most important part, is to figure out and understand what impact this weakening of Judith had on Sepha. Dayo Olopade in his article Go West Young Men states, â€Å"Flirtations with a white acquaintance, blighted habitats, and crippling disillusion all figure prominently in both meditations on transnationalism† (Olopade 5). Sephas short relationship with Judith was the first thing, besides his store, that really made him feel a part of the United States. He was not just an immigrant anymore, but he had American people trust and they had him to lean on, Sepha was needed. Even though Sepha has Judith, Naomi, Kenneth, and Joseph there is still an overwhelming theme of loneliness. â€Å"The empty space, whether it’s only a few feet or the entire car, becomes impassable . Perhaps it’s the embarrassment of being alone, the fear of being exposed, and the risk of losing one’s anonymity that make us shy away from one another precisely when we should feel emboldened† (Mengestu 113). Sepha has these friends, but every night he still returns home from a failing store in an unknown city. This