Trent Carl Islam in Global Contexts Jaguar Review Paul Stoller's Jaguar: A Story of Africans in America is a fictional novel

that portrays the struggles of a Muslim African couple coping with an ever-shrinking world. Stoller is a professor of anthropology at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He Writes Jaguar to weave ethnographic concepts into a fiction novel that expresses the struggle and drama of social and inner life in an ever fluctuating, globalized environment. Stoller's ability to illustrate a number of pertinent themes, including the struggle between modern life and traditional life, the issue of class distinctions and the underlying and foundational concept of globalization, in a dramatic, fictional story is both intriguing and distracting. Jaguar is slightly over 200 pages which makes it a quick read for just about any audience. The book is divided into thirty one chapters. Stoller also breaks the book into subsections depending on the locality of a set of chapters. He rotates between Niger and Harlem which are the two main places where the story of Issa and Khadija takes place. This keeps the reader from confusing the setting. After the main text of the book there is an author's note where Paul Stoller explains his reasons for writing a novel instead of an anthropology book and what influences his scholastic career gives to Jaguar. It contextualizes his work. The cover picture depicts the concept of separation and the conflict and interaction between two worlds and lives. It depicts Issa and Khadija on separate sides of a blue stripe, which is perhaps supposed to represent the Atlantic ocean. Issa's portion of the picture includes modern baseball caps and the Empire State building while Khadija's side is marded by chillies and traditonal (as opposed to Western modern) African homes. This is a representation of many of the themes

Trent Carl Islam in Global Contexts covered in the book. Stoller uses a very straightforward form of storytelling and voice. It is often very direct which engages the reader and doesn't bog the reader down with lengthy, adjective-heavy descriptions. Some readers may find his writing style too simple and dialogue heavy. However it is part of the culture that he is depicting to be dialogue heavy. It is clear in the book that Issa loves to converse and is stated that that is how people from Niger express themselves and even think- they think aloud in conversation. The book is very dramatic because it focuses on relationships between people. It also focuses on the rift between a married couple separated by necessity of economic welfare. Issa moves to America an leaves his wife Khadija in Niger with his family. Their struggles in two separate worlds and their struggle to keep each other in mind as husband and wife lends itself to some controversial experiences. Readers can relate to this struggle of love and often empathize with the characters. The book is easy to read and get entangled in the story line. While this is positive and entertaining it may distract the reader from the important themes depicted in the book. Thematically the book is packed with useful and intriguing ideas. The underlying concept is globalization and how peoples cope with a world that is mixing culturally, economically, and politically. The conflict between modern life and traditional life is pervasive. The role of man and woman in Issa and Khadija's marriage is particularly illustrative of this theme. In traditional culture in Niger men often had multiple wives, however Khadija and Issa vow to have a modern, monogamous marriage. This entails a number of difficulties when Issa leaves Africa for America for a number of years. This theme is also illustrated in the role that Khaidija plays

Trent Carl Islam in Global Contexts economically. She creates her own business and becomes financially and economically independent which is not very common in Niger. The theme of class distinction is also clear in their marriage because Issa is from a noble family while Khadija is a commoner. These sort of barriers are also often rooted in traditional societies though they still exist in modern societies. Political themes are played out in Issa's struggle of immigration. He applies for asylum to get papers numerous times and is rejected each time. Papers would allow him to expand his business and bring Khadija to the United States but he is never able to do so. The political and cultural struggles that Issa and Khadija deal with create interesting, new cultural interaction. When Issa arrives in America his concept of ethnic identity expands because he is forced to rely on other French-speaking Africans for identity and safe-haven in a new land. Similarly, Khadija relies on an Arab man in Africa to help her with her business. These interactions show how economic trade can break down ethnic barriers. The most striking conflict is the conflict between communal duties and individualism, especially in Issa. He still provides for Khadija and even his mother and other family that lives in Africa while he is in America however the longer he stays in America the less his intention for being there is for his family and the more he seeks the thrill of individual entrepreneurship and gain. These ideas all affect both Issa and Khadija's Islamic identity as they overstep certain Islamic ideals while struggling to cope with a rapidly fluctuating world. Stoller's book is great for an entertaining introduction to the themes of immigrant struggle and how religious identity is affected through migration and the exchange of cultures. However the reader should be keen to not superficially focus on the dramatic elements of Jaguar and think

Trent Carl Islam in Global Contexts about the implications of the struggles encountered by each character of the book.