The Immigrant - Manju Kapur

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This is the first piece I've ready by Manju Kapur. It was definitely an interesting start.

The story opens with 2 different families - Nina's and Ananda's. Both are well into their 30's and unmarried. Through chance, they end up getting an arranged marriage. Ananda is a dentist who has emigrated to Canada and is constantly looking to remove anything from himself that reminds him he is Indian. Nina is a school teacher. After a lengthy, mail driven courtship they get married and Nina follows Ananda to Canada. The remainder of the novel follows Ananda and Nina as they adjust to each other, the new situation, and life.

I found this novel both familiar and interesting for a few reasons. The familiar: Nina's story is one I've read quite a few other times. A simple, traditional girl leaves her home to be with her husband. She is enamored with the idea of life in the West but has no idea what that means and she ends up lonely and unfulfilled sitting at home. It's tragic and tired, even if it's a common experience. It just made me incredibly sad. 

The interesting: The book addresses some interesting subjects. 1. Ananda suffers from premature ejaculation. This is spelled out and explored in a way that I have never seen in an Indian novel. The author went into male mindset on this too, which was very brave of her. He goes alone to see a therapist about it and over comes the problem, but from then on is obsessed with counting and timing to the point where their lovemaking becomes about his counting and not a connection. The couple is unable to have children. Again, the author delves into the typical mindset of masculinity and how it shouldn't be his problem. Both Ananda and Nina end have affairs that are fun but ultimately unfulfilling. The novel ends with Nina leaving Ananda. The spotlight on arranged marriage and the lack of intimacy that has resulted is very startling.  It's a great example of how you can't just throw 2 people together and expect them to be moving the same direction and truly invest in each other and intimacy. The author also addresses clinging to traditional mindset versus trying to distance as far as possible from that mindset. 

I found the characters relatable and the writing well done. It's not a sunshiny book, and I ended up thinking a lot about the subjects the author included. I felt all of them were good ones to get out in the open. 

Read it!

~Becky~

Firaq Gorakhpuri - The Poet of Pain and Ecstasy: Ajai Mansingh

Non-Fiction

Verdict: Maybe if you have an interest in poets or Urdu

I bought this books because 1: the cover is pretty, and 2: because I thought it was poetry and I'm trying to expand my understanding of poetry. It turned out not to be poetry per say, but a biography. 

The author is a relative of Firaq Gorkahpuri, and he makes it very clear from the beginning that he wishes to clear up misconceptions of the poet. Some of this he does, some of this he reinforces, so it's a little odd. 

Overall, the man behind the poetry struck me as a simple man. Fussy, flawed and normal as any other man. I was particularly unimpressed with his obsession with how he was fooled into marrying a sub-optimal woman in his words. 

It was interesting, as most biographies are, to watch the progress of someone's life and to understand how they ended up how they did. In spite of this not being a poetry book, there's quite a bit of poetry in this book to illustrate the poets mindset. I very, very much liked his poetry. I found myself spending way too much time translating in my head. I wasn't particularly impressed with the translations given, but that may just be a result of my not understanding Hindi/Urdu as well as I wish. 

The book was quite a bit longer than it needed to be, and often circled back to the same content.

Read it if you enjoy Urdu poetry or want to understand about Firaq Gorakhpuri.

~Becky~

The Village - Nikita Lalwani

Fiction

Verdict: Read it!

I haven't read anything by Nikita Lalwani before this, and I loved my introduction to her writing. The Village is about a film crew that comes from the UK (specifically from the BBC) to film a documentary for a series about an open door prison. All the convicts have murdered someone, but have the right to go out and work, so long as they return by evening. 

It's an interesting concept and Nikita Lalwani does a brilliant job of it. Her main character is a woman fighting for professional acceptance and respect, yet is the only one portrayed from the film crew with any humanity. They live in simple conditions with the prisoners. Even being Indian, she is never able to make a connection as people are suspicious of her. The main character makes connections with some of the people, only to have them spoiled later as the film crew manufactures or exploits situations in order to get more "feels" from the shoot. It is rather astonishing how far they can depersonalize the inmates to sell a film.

The main character leaves before the film is done as she can't live with the accusation that she never cared. The whole novel has a very surreal feeling. 

Read it.

~Becky~

Butter Chicken in Ludhiana Travels in Small town India - Pankaj Mishra

Non-Fiction

Read it

I haven't read anything previously by Pankaj Mishra - though he's quite the known and celebrated author. The title caught my eye - as did the stereotyped pictures of India on the cover - because I have an obsession with Punjab lately. 

Mishra's book walks the reader through some of his travels in India - mostly the northern half. The author's biting wit and commentary were quite amusing. India is, at the best of times, chock full of situations that are nothing more or less than ludicrous. Anyone who has spent anytime at all in India realizes this. I especially enjoyed that Mishra's destinations weren't big places. The heart of India isn't in it's big cities and tourist destinations. His skewering of small dirty hotels was especially entertaining. He also touches on some of the backward and bigoted thinking that persists to date in the minds of people who either have not been taught to think bigger and better or simply don't want to. These conversations when overheard can be quite shocking if you are not expecting them. 

It's a bit of a paradox when people travel here. You can't see the real India without moving off the beaten path, but its a hard situation to put yourself in. Anyone coming to India would be too overwhelmed (even the beaten path has been known to overcome the heartiest people) and anyone in India is too busy actually living their life and having a job to wander around in small dusty, backward places. But this is how travelers find themselves and learn about the wider condition. Trains in particular - Sleeper class if you are the sturdiest of the sturdy - are one of the best places I've ever found to observe humanity and exactly who Indians are. 

Mishra's humor moves the reader through mundane and often ridiculous scenarios. It also poses a challenge to readers like me to search out (more than I already have!) places and situations that stretch me and help me further understand the country I choose to live in. 

Read it.

~Becky~

Desert Flower - Waris Dirie

Waris Dirie

Non-Fiction

It's been a long time since I read a good autobiography and Waris Dirie didn't disappoint.

The story opens with her in her childhood and what prompted her to run away from her family in Somalia - an arranged marriage - and her journey after that to become an international fashion model. If nothing else, it's a fantastic story of dreams and impossible circumstances. 

Waris Dirie comes from a very poor nomadic family in Somalia. She is a middle child and had a very close connection with nature. She addresses poverty, nomadic culture, female genital mutilation, toxic relationships, and being a dependent immigrant in a straightforward, humble tone.

Her story is both extraordinary and inspiring. It will inspire you to do better from whatever background you have.

Read it.

~Becky

Women Dreaming - Salma

Read it

Fiction

Women dreaming is quite an interesting read. It's been a long time since I have read an author who is so blunt (without romance or lament) about the condition of women - in this case Muslim Women in India. It's a novel, so fiction, but I could relate to the characters so well, I felt like this could be the case in any Muslim home in India.

Salma's characters aren't stereotypical. Her main character leaves her husband after he takes a second wife. Her sister in law was rejected and sent home from a marriage after her husband was not able to have sex thus she was rejected as being barren (he most likely was gay). Her mother is lost in an angry sad world where she needs to cry and shout about everything. Her husband is so angry that she stood up for herself, he takes it upon himself to make the rest of her life hell by separating her from her children. 

All of this takes place in a village. It could be any village - the small mindedness and judgmental nature are universal. The author also takes pains to demonstrate how self righteous, religious people (in this case a man) are much more interested in controlling and limiting women rather than in the actual religion. It's a refreshing honesty. Salma's main character isn't a heroine. She falls into a pit of despair and dissociation. Yet you can't help admiring her for making her own decision and living her own life in spite of so many obstacles. And you feel sorry for her because even after she does, she's not able to find happiness or even peace. The children can't decide who to support or put up with because both houses become toxic. The author also takes pains to point out how shackling one generation of women makes it's way down other generations as well. Women themselves encourage these limitations because they don't know or can't imagine any other way.

It's a sad novel, but a reality for many women and helped me appreciate exactly how my separation could have gone. I hope those who need inspiration to get out of intolerable situations read it and take hope from the main character and see the importance of finding happiness after life changes and things don't work out how you hoped or expected.

Read it.

~Becky~

The Seeds of War - Ashok K Banker

Fiction

Read it

I've read many different flavors of both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, some good, some inane. This is another reincarnation of a part of the Mahabharata and one I found very interesting. While this is only a section of the author's rendering of the Mahabharata, I found some of his explanations and story telling skills very good for understanding the underlying thought and logic for some of the familiar stories. 

In general, I'm a fan of multi-generational stories, and this one stretched for a few.  I found the plot pacing to be rather sporadic - in some places the author takes pains to over explain and give too many details and in other places, he races past things. I'm not sure if this was due to the size of the project he was trying to cover or if he wanted to connect stories. Either way, it was a bit awkward to read from that perspective. 

I'm not sure I would sit through the rest of the series if this is any indication of how it would go, but I did enjoy learning new things about old stories.

Read it!

~Becky~