Published by W. W. Norton & Company on January 25, 2016
The key nations in The Illegal are creations of fiction but they could stand for any number of lands in which one group oppresses another, in which the “haves” lack compassion for the “have nots,” in which people who believe in racial or national purity wish to keep others from sharing in their nation’s prosperity.
Zantoroland is an island in the Indian Ocean. It was colonized by a succession of European nations that imported African slaves. The population, largely black, is divided into two primary ethnic groups. The majority group, currently in power, is oppressing (and often murdering) the minority population.
The black natives of Zantoroland were once enslaved by the residents of Freedom State, a larger nearby island that is now one of the wealthiest nations in the world. When Freedom State abolished slavery, it also deported most blacks to Zantoroland. The political party that currently controls the government in Freedom State wants to be seen as making good on a campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigrants, including political refugees who fled Zantoroland to avoid being arrested and killed.
Keita Ali is 15 when the novel gets rolling and in his twenties when most of the story takes place. His father, a freelance journalist, is treated as an enemy of the state. Keita is clearly fated for death. He cannot get help from his sister in the United States because she seems to have disappeared.
Keita is a promising marathon runner. After gaining the opportunity to train in Freedom State, Keita decides to go into hiding, knowing that his return to Zantoroland would eventually cost him his life. Soon he finds himself running, literally and figuratively, in order to save himself and his sister.
That background provides the framework for the story that follows. It is driven by a political scandal that ties together key characters, all of whom are developed in convincing detail. In addition to Keita, a key character is a disabled sports reporter named Viola Hill who would prefer to be covering the immigration crisis. Another important character is Ivernia Beech, an 85-year-old white woman who is in danger of losing her right to live independently because she committed the twin offenses of getting old and befriending an undocumented immigrant.
A third central character is John, an impoverished ninth-grader on an academic scholarship at a school for the gifted. As a school project, John is making a documentary. What he films, quite by accident, puts his life at risk. Other significant characters include a police officer who befriends Kieta, an immigration official who is caught up in a scandal of his own, a woman who has established herself as the “queen” of the slum that harbors much of Freedom Land’s black population, and various principles in the marathon world who either support or want to exploit Keita.
There are clear parallels between the story told in The Illegal and the ongoing American debate about immigration, although the emphasis is on political refugees rather than undocumented immigrants who cross borders for economic reasons. The issue is complex (despite the simplistic ways in which many people try to define it) and, while that complexity is recognized in The Illegal, the story is fairly simple. The story is justly sympathetic to individuals who are in desperate situations while recognizing that decent people can oppose illegal immigration without joining the rude or racist contingent that makes political debate so ugly. The novel represents various points of view fairly and honestly, although it does not disguise the ugliness of opinions that are motivated by hatred or racism.
Keita is such a nice guy that he’s a bit one-dimensional. Lack of depth keeps The Illegal from becoming a stellar novel. It is a feel-good novel, which makes it predictable and unsurprising. Still, there’s nothing wrong with feeling good now and then. The Illegal left me with a warm feeling about several of its characters. That is enough motivation for me to recommend the novel.
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