Don't Wait to Be Called

by Jacob R. Weber

Don't Wait to Be Called is a collection of short stories that span the distance from Eritrea and Ethiopia, whose refugee populations author Jacob Weber worked with in 2013 and 2014, all the way to Rustbelt towns of Ohio, where Weber grew up in the shadow of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. These stories range from migrants fleeing for their lives and hanging on to what is left from the dangerous journey to "bros" lifting weights together who just want to get ripped. Weber also covers the 2015 Baltimore Riots through the eyes of a student (Weber's wife was a Baltimore teacher at the time), a dying mathematician's son who tries to master high school math before his father dies, and a single mother just trying to hold it together on a Sunday at the park. Weber twice hits on themes of surveillance, once in a very short story told through the eyes of an eavesdropping translator (Weber himself is a translator for a living), and again through a haunting story of a man who built facilities for the National Security Agency and now wants to spend his retirement in a bath house he built. But the heart of the collection are the four stories of "Habesha" immigrants--those who have come from Ethiopia and Eritrea to the United States to become a new kind of American--"American as Berbere," as one story has it.

204 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2017

Reviews

[Jeremy Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacob Weber's debut work shows him to be a terrific writer with a penetrating insight of what humanity is all about. On the surface, this is a collection of 12 seemingly random and engaging stories, each of which left me not wanting to exit their worlds. Read more closely, and there's a link to this diverse group of characters: it's the author's earthy, gentle insight into these characters' humanity. Each is facing his or her own unique struggle -- some more familiar to this middle-aged white American than others, but all deeply familiar on some level. Each is bruised by life but perseveres, wanting something more. And each is, in his or her own way, worthy of cheering on through the muck and mire of life. I came away from the book a more understanding person, and generally a better human being.

Full disclosure: The author is my brother. It doesn't matter. This is an easy 5 stars regardless.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong writer, with a gift for building character. I ordered this book from Amazon because I feared my library would not find it (author not famous yet, but he may be), and the book seemed similar in structure to one I am writing. But it was not. There is no way my writing compares to the VARIETY of characters Weber has developed. This is truly a man's book - such a diversity of interests, former jobs, skills his characters have -- putting up dry wall, wrestling, running cross country, roofing, being a Marine. The best stories are about immigrants or ESL learners, and Weber is right in their skin, or is it his own? This writer will go far.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is quite skilled at building characters! I enjoyed getting to know the various characters in his stories. In fact, I’d love to know more about some of them, they were so interesting! The stories had a wide variety of settings and themes. My favorites were the ones about Eritrean refugees. I enjoyed learning a bit about their lifestyle and customs. I didn’t appreciate some of the language that was used and I thought some of the sexual references were unnecessary, but I really liked the stories. I would be happy to read more of this author’s work.

[Caroline Bock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, award-winning collection of stories by debut writer, Marine, Jacob Weber.


I particularly found "Silver Spring," about a refugee couple from Eritrea (Africa) couple living in Silver Springs well-done, inhabiting their lives and their solace and sadness in a similar way to the much lauded novel Exit West, which I also just read and is worth reading as many end-of-year 'best of' lists have noted..


The trials of the African diaspora ring true in several of these stories, the best ones I would argue. I wonder how he did it since he is not of the diaspora, but clearly among them in these stories, which may be the best sign that Jacob Weber did it well. If you need to get out of your own head, like I sometimes too, this collection is worth reading!

Happy Holidays!
--Caroline

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories was a good combination of stories that kept me interested and wanting to find out what happened, characters that I could relate to or sympathize with, and interesting characters that taught me about cultures that I didn't know anything about. I like how the problems that real people face in real life, often choosing between two bad options, are described in a way that I can feel the pain that the character would feel when making these life decisions.

I think my favorite was Mr. Sympathy because I like to think that is how I would act in this situation even though I am not sure that is the truth; I want to believe it is.

[Karen Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of stories about people I came to care about, sometimes in spite of myself and my pre-existing attitudes. It transforms the vague current-event descriptor “refugee” into flesh and blood and tears and hope; I connected with a sensitive, insecure wreck of a bodybuilder who idolizes the wrong role model; I identified with a teenager trying to connect with his dying father through algebra; and I began to understnad a veteran with longstanding self-doubt as he dealt with, shall we say, a very personal injury. A wonderful debut; I look forward to more.
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