THE NOWHERE PEOPLE

The Penguin Book of Migration Literature, edited by Dohra Ahmad, Penguin Classics, $23. Every year, millions of people move to a new country.

From war refugees to corporate expats, migrants constantly reshape their places of origin and arrival. Ranging widely across centuries and continents, the first global anthology of migrant literature brings together Zadie Smith, Marjane Satrapi, Salman Rushdie along with Deepak Unnikrishnan and a host of others. The book presents a visceral understanding of our rapidly changing world through the eyes of those at the centre of that change.

From Montreal 1962, by Shauna Singh Baldwin: One day our children will say, “My father came to this country with very little but his turban and my mother learned to work because no one would hire him.”

Then we will have taught Canadians what it takes to wear a turban. 

 A TIMELESS EPIC

The Illustrated Ramayana, DK/Penguin Random House, $65. The story of Rama, attributed to the celebrated sage and poet Valmiki, has always been much more than the eternal battle of good versus evil. It’s a tale of love and devotion, righteousness and deliverance.

Created in consultation with economist, scholar and translator Dr Bibek Debroy, The Illustrated Ramayana is also cross-referenced with Sanskrit and non-Sanskrit texts (like Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi) – and that makes it all the more valuable as these give the reader an understanding of the regional nuances that have shaped our perceptions about Rama.

With a wealth of colourful illustrations and pictures, it’s a treasure trove of insights into an epic that transcends time itself.

FROM HERE TO THERE

The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Che Guevara, Seven Stories Press, $23.95. Full disclosure: I came to the book via the movie, which is not the best way to do this. Normally, I’d do it the other way around. And either the movie would – almost, but not quite – live up to expectation or disappoint, because in the reading, one imagines things a certain way, but the cinematic depiction is rarely true to that. When I watch the movie first, it’s hard to get into the book because I’ve been fed the bullet points already, already experienced someone else’s “reading” of it.

That is not the case with The Motorcycle Diaries. Because not only have many years passed since I first saw the movie – incidentally, one of my favourite road movies ever – but because the book, with old grainy photographs, really is a diary. An intimate record of the journey Che Guevara undertook in the early 1950s, riding from Brazil to Peru by motorcycle, before he became the face on T-shirts and posters.

Our journey was suspended in that haven of indecision, subordinate to the words that give consent and create bonds.

There’s fun, adventure, and the realization that one is witnessing a young man’s coming of age as he encounters the harsh realities of the world he inhabits.

LIVING WITH AUNTIES

The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel, Lake Union Publishing, $14.95

Meena Dave – and it’s Dave, as in short for David, not the desi Duh-ve, she will have you know – is a photojournalist, world traveller, and ultimate nomad. She has no family, no permanent address, and no long-term attachments. But her solitary life is turned upside down when she unexpectedly inherits an apartment in historic Back Bay, Boston.

Her journalistic instinct is piqued and she decides to follow the story that landed her in the home of a stranger. It’s a mystery that comes with a series of clues that surface in the oddest of places, a trio of meddling Indian aunties, a handsome neighbour, and a dog named Wally.

Two of the aunties embrace her presence wholeheartedly, the third remains suspicious of her motives. But all three are determined to remind Meena of her Indian roots. They ply her with chai and palak parathas. Which Meena describes as “like a tortilla, but smaller and green, with sesame seeds”. She learns not to say naan bread or chai tea and to drape a sari, in which, the aunties proclaim she looks like Hema Malini.

“Who?” asks Meena.

All the while learning the history of some of the first Indians who set foot in America. Not in the 1970s, as is commonly believed, but in the 1920s to the late 40s.

Over a hundred of them came to study at MIT right before the fall of the British Raj in India. ... so they could go back and rebuild India.

An aunty also shows her how to make sabudana khichri, adding a tip that I haven’t seen in any recipe book. To use it, you’ll have to read the book! But trust me, I tried it, and it works beautifully.

Though it smacks a little of the 1980s mini series Lace, it’s difficult to slot this book into a genre. Whodunnit? In a manner of speaking, but there’s no body. Rom-com?

Though there are really fun and sweet moments, that doesn’t quite cut it. A history lesson? Certainly, but not a dry one.

The Candid Life of Meena Dave is best described as the best of all these.

TAKING ROOT

Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew, Arsenal Pulp Press, $22.95. When a woman walks out on her family, leaving no trace behind, she leaves a hole. Not only in the family members’ lives, but in their memories.

As the years pass, each member deals with the loss differently. One daughter blames her, the other can’t stop wondering if her mother ever wanted to come back for them. Distanced from her mother, she wonders if she’s good mother material herself. And aches for that connection, to have her mother tell her what she was like as a baby.

The isolation of a small mining town in BC, being cut off from one’s roots, being a minority within a minority... were any or all of these contributory factors? Were they themselves responsible in any way?

I should have studied harder in school, should have been kinder to my sister, should’ve cooked the rice before Mother asked me, should’ve been quieter when Father was sleeping. We all gave her so many reasons to leave. As the weeks passed, I blamed everyone and held my resentment tightly in my chest.

In her effort to befriend neighbours, “Mother shifted from foot to foot, swaying as if she had a baby on her hip. It was as if she was getting ready to jump into the conversation but was weighed down by ghosts”.

There are things that will be oh-so-familiar to desis. The couch, wrapped in plastic, along with the top of the coffee table and the remote control for the television. Words like jie jie for older sister – jijji or didi in Hindi. And confinement, the days for which a new mother and her baby are kept indoors to prevent bad spirits from harming them.

Jamie Chai Yun Liew captures beautifully a woman’s feelings as she traces her mother’s past journey in order to understand where she belongs. The podcaster, lawyer and law professor specializing in immigration, refugee and citizenship law brings her experience to peel back the layers of generations’ of experience of people who struggle to make new lives while holding onto remnants of old ones.

Like a dandelion, the Hakka can land anywhere, take root in the poorest soil, flourish, and flower.

BACK THEN

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, One World, $24. The first novel of the author who gave us the heartwrenching Between the World and Me is a clear signpost on the road to great writing. The story of Hiram Walker who was born into bondage and lost all memory of his mother when she was sold, but was gifted with a mysterious power is one that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.

OH WHAT FUN!

Mangoes, Mischief and Tales of Friendship by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy, Candlewick Press, $22.99. Chitra Soundar is the author of the delightful Pattan’s Pumpkin, and in this, she presents eight original trickster tales, inspired by traditional Indian folktales.

The adventures of Prince Veera and Suku as they solve the case of the greedy moneylender or try to figure out who stole the laddus, are sure to be a hit with the little ones!

TEEN REVIEW

By RIA JIMMY

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca, HarperCollins, $13.59. Red, White, and Whole is a lyrical and heartfelt book about mother-daughter relationships.

It touches on embracing who you are, your culture, and the diverse cultures around you. Set in 1983 in  America, the story revolves around Reha, a 13-year-old girl and the only Indian-American in her school. Reha struggles to embrace who she is and feels stuck between both cultures.  Explaining this to her mother isn’t easy. But when her mother Punam  is diagnosed with leukaemia, her world is flipped upside down. As Punam battles the red and white blood cells weakening her body, Reha begins to recognize the importance of family, friends, resilience, and staying true to who you are.

Rajani LaRocca takes us to special moments in Reha’s past that bring meaning and understanding to her feelings now. I could relate to her cultural insecurities and understand where she was coming from. Including tales from Hindu mythology that connect with the story helps teach many noteworthy lessons.

Red, White, and Whole is soul-satisfying story about a mother’s limitless love. It reminds us that this love can go unnoticed, and teaches us the importance of appreciating the love we have around us every day.

• Ria Jimmy is a youth volunteer at Brampton Library.