Memory Mambo describes the life of Juani Casas, a 25-year-old Cuban-born American lesbian who manages her familys laundromat in Chicago while trying to cope with family, work, love, sex, and the weirdness of North American culture. Achy Obejass writing is sharp and mordantly funny. She understands perfectly how the romance of exilefrom a homeland as well as from heterosexualityand the mundane reality of everyday life balance one another. Memory Mambo is ultimately very moving in its depiction of what it means to find a new and finally safe sense of home.
