this short story collection follows the lives of eight different somali immigrants in different cities and at different times. as the title suggests, we get a peek into private lives and domestic spaces, and also into the material reality of emigrating to strange spaces and of starting over, the ways events both large and small mold the shape of a life. a number of these stories focus on characters behaving in ways that don't feel particularly likeable but that we have to recognize as understandable and as built on their particular pasts. omar's tone is honest and empathetic and she describes the connections between mental health, religiosity, and circumstances in ways that feel very real. in terms of subject matter and the range of kinds of lives described this reminded me a bit of my favourite short story collection, interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri, and in terms of prose it reminded me a bit of such a fun age by kiley reid. a truly impressive debut!

The premise of this book was very interesting to me, and I liked how it was divided into short stories. Some, more than others, caught my attention. However, some did not. I did like the writing style.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I thought it as a good story, enjoyed it.

A quick read for me. Immigrant stories are not ones I'm drawn to, but I gave this a go, and it's good overall. I wanted to go deeper with some of the characters, but the short format didn't allow that to happen. Nonetheless, Omar has talent, and I hope continues to write.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I’m interested in immigrant experience stories, and I realized I don’t think I’ve ever read a Somalian (well, Rome-born Canadian but still…) author, so I figured I’d check this book out.
It’s a collection of slightly interconnected short stories that span about three decades and showcases lives of various Somalian immigrants living in various countries, though always (true to title) in apartments.
The narrative style is plain but effective, the stories themselves though are seldom more that slices of life, occasionally unfinished, and often speak more to the state of things than the states of mind. Not as much inner life reflections as a title with the word Private in it might lead one to expect. As such the collection isn’t especially emotionally engaging, though that’s the sort of thing that usually varies from reader to reader. Though they were a few stories toward the end that were stronger than others. Overall, a decent though not especially memorable, and it did read very quickly. Thanks Netgalley.