Fernando writes expressively and finds an appropriate emotional correlative to convey a variety of tones, from nostalgic to...
A series of loosely concatenated stories focusing on the lives of first and second generation Sri Lankan immigrants in England.
The eponymous opening story introduces us to a large cast of characters, most of whom will play significant roles in later stories. The occasion for bringing everyone together is a 1982 New Year’s Eve party at Victor and Nandini’s home. Preethi, one of their three children, plays a particularly prominent role as we move through the book, for Fernando traces the vagaries of her romances, her marriage and her relationship to her own children. At the party, in an achingly honest response to the notion of their living out their dreams, Victor cries, “We belong nowhere...But if we belong anywhere, it is here. I have chosen here.” The desire to find a home indeed drives many of the characters, for they try to settle down, sometimes with the dreaded “white fellows” feared by Nandini’s brother. “Sophocles’ Chorus” explores the first love relationship of the 17-year-old Preethi and Ollie, a golden “boy-man” all of the girls aspire to. He casts a shadow over Freddie, who’s a great friend of Preethi’s but who yearns to be more. In a later story we learn that Preethi’s brother Rohan is struggling with his sexuality, for he feels attracted to both men and women. In “Honey Skin” we meet the 80-year-old Dorothy and discover she recently lost her husband, Hugo (who briefly appeared at the New Year’s Eve party), but still misses the sexual connection she had to him even though for years she’s fantasized about women. The penultimate story, “Meta General,” informs us that Preethi’s husband has lost his job, a victim of the 21st century economic downturn, while the final story focuses on the loss of a beloved aunt.
Fernando writes expressively and finds an appropriate emotional correlative to convey a variety of tones, from nostalgic to tragic.Pub Date: July 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-307-95810-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
This quirky, complex, and frustrating heroine will win hearts and challenge assumptions about family dysfunction and mental...
With the help of unusual houseguests, a teenage girl who tries to rebel by airing her family’s dirty laundry cleans up her act instead.
To Merit Voss, the white picket fence around her house is the only thing normal about the family it contains. She lives in a converted church with her father, stepmother, and siblings, and although her parents have been divorced for years, her mother still lives in the basement, struggling with social anxiety. No one in her family is religious, so her brother Utah updates the church marquee every day with fun facts instead of Bible verses. Merit is less accomplished than her identical twin sister, Honor, so she likes to buy used trophies to celebrate her failures. But Honor seems to have a fetish for terminally ill boys, so it’s a surprise to Merit when Sagan, who is perfectly healthy, kisses Merit after mistaking her for her sister—and then reveals that he’s living in their house. Soon they have another houseguest, Luck, whose connection to the family makes Merit even more convinced she’s living in a madhouse. So why is everyone so angry at her? Merit has a love/hate relationship with her sister. She's conflicted by her feelings for Sagan, who leaves intriguing sketches (illustrated by Adams) around the house for her to decipher. She’s simultaneously intrigued and repulsed by Luck, who annoys her with his questions but is also her confidant. She can’t sit through dinner without starting a fight; she’s been skipping school for days; and when she decides to give her whole family the silent treatment, Sagan is the only one who notices. In fact, he and Luck are the only people in the house who recognize Merit’s quirks for what they really are—cries for help. And when Merit takes drastic measures to be heard, the fallout is both worse and much better than she feared. Hoover (It Ends With Us, 2016, etc.) does an excellent job of revealing the subtle differences between healthy teenage rebellion and clinical depression, and Merit’s aha moment is worthy of every trophy in her collection.
This quirky, complex, and frustrating heroine will win hearts and challenge assumptions about family dysfunction and mental illness in a life-affirming story that redefines what’s normal.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5011-7062-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
The emotions run high, the conversations run deep, and the relationships ebb and flow with grace.
When tragedy strikes, a mother and daughter forge a new life.
Morgan felt obligated to marry her high school sweetheart, Chris, when she got pregnant with their daughter, Clara. But she secretly got along much better with Chris’ thoughtful best friend, Jonah, who was dating her sister, Jenny. Now her life as a stay-at-home parent has left her feeling empty but not ungrateful for what she has. Jonah and Jenny eventually broke up, but years later they had a one-night stand and Jenny got pregnant with their son, Elijah. Now Jonah is back in town, engaged to Jenny, and working at the local high school as Clara’s teacher. Clara dreams of being an actress and has a crush on Miller, who plans to go to film school, but her father doesn't approve. It doesn’t help that Miller already has a jealous girlfriend who stalks him via text from college. But Clara and Morgan’s home life changes radically when Chris and Jenny are killed in an accident, revealing long-buried secrets and forcing Morgan to reevaluate the life she chose when early motherhood forced her hand. Feeling betrayed by the adults in her life, Clara marches forward, acting both responsible and rebellious as she navigates her teenage years without her father and her aunt, while Jonah and Morgan's relationship evolves in the wake of the accident. Front-loaded with drama, the story leaves plenty of room for the mother and daughter to unpack their feelings and decide what’s next.
The emotions run high, the conversations run deep, and the relationships ebb and flow with grace.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5420-1642-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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