All the Shining People

Beautifully written, these stories depict a search for human connection and an attempt to fit in far from home. The thirteen stories in Kathy Friedman’s All the Shining People explore migration, diaspora, and belonging within Toronto’s Jewish South African community, as individuals come to terms with the oppressive hierarchies that separate, and the connections that bind. Seeking a place to belong, the book’s characters — including a life-drawing model searching the streets for her lover, an Afrikaner preparing for her bat mitzvah, and a trans man vacationing with his partner’s family in Mexico — crave authentic relationships that replicate the lost feeling of home. With its focus on family, culture, and identity, All the Shining People captures the immigrant experience with deep sympathy.