LEVITATE

Sepideh Saremi’s engrossing story “Boy” transports readers on a personal journey into the mind of a brand-new mother struggling with difficult feelings and introspection. After giving birth to a white male with blue eyes, the protagonist, an educated brown woman, finds herself reflecting on her identity and cultural expectations.

Saremi expertly combines themes of intergenerational conflict, cultural heritage, and motherhood to create a compelling portrait of the protagonist’s inner turmoil. Readers are able to identify with the protagonist’s experiences because the narrative voice offers a deep window into her thoughts, uncertainties, and reflections.

The protagonist’s first response to her newborn son, “I have birthed my own oppressor,” establishes the context for the subsequent contemplation and self-examination. The protagonist’s journey is handled by the author with amazing candor, as she confronts the conflict between her own contemporary, educated life and the conventional expectations her cultural background has of her.

Readers are able to observe the protagonist’s reflection on shame through Saremi’s evocative prose, which is interwoven with the disparate experiences of her grandmothers, who were born and raised in their native country and never learned to read. The protagonist is forced to face her dual identity as a modern, educated woman living in the West while simultaneously respecting her cultural background as a result of these reflections.

When I think about Sepideh Saremi’s potent work “Boy,” as a Black person, I’m struck by how deeply it explores identity, motherhood, and cultural expectations. Even though the protagonist’s experiences aren’t exactly like mine, the themes and feelings she raises are very relevant, and they make me reflect on my own path as a Black woman navigating comparable complexities.

Jupiter Galvus, Contributing Fiction Editor