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Book Review
Mar. 7th, 2013 11:35 pmThe Abundance
by Amit Majmudar
This eloquent novel about an immigrant Indian family is told from the perspective of the mother, who is slowly dying of cancer. However, the book does not focus on the progress of her disease or her preparation for death; instead, it's about her relationship with her two children, Mala and Ronak, and particularly Mala. The narrator's illness and slide towards death is the catalyst for bringing changes and a new clarity to these relationships, and to the tensions and love between immigrants and their second-generation children as well as the larger conflict between tradition and assimilation. Mala and her mother bond over food during the latter's final months, as Mala learns to cook the traditional Indian recipes her mother has always made.
The Abundance is a successful and moving view of ordinary life. I really liked the way Mala and the narrator's relationship was portrayed. It was at times prickly and contentious, but always founded on deep love. There wasn't always understanding, but nonetheless always the desire to understand. It had the ring of truth to it. I also loved the narrator's voice, which was quiet and warm and so realistic.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
by Amit Majmudar
This eloquent novel about an immigrant Indian family is told from the perspective of the mother, who is slowly dying of cancer. However, the book does not focus on the progress of her disease or her preparation for death; instead, it's about her relationship with her two children, Mala and Ronak, and particularly Mala. The narrator's illness and slide towards death is the catalyst for bringing changes and a new clarity to these relationships, and to the tensions and love between immigrants and their second-generation children as well as the larger conflict between tradition and assimilation. Mala and her mother bond over food during the latter's final months, as Mala learns to cook the traditional Indian recipes her mother has always made.
The Abundance is a successful and moving view of ordinary life. I really liked the way Mala and the narrator's relationship was portrayed. It was at times prickly and contentious, but always founded on deep love. There wasn't always understanding, but nonetheless always the desire to understand. It had the ring of truth to it. I also loved the narrator's voice, which was quiet and warm and so realistic.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
