Second Story Press, March 15, 2016.
Four Stars
Kalyana is an impressionable young girl growing up in
the Fiji Islands in the late 1960s. The recent political independence of the island
nation brought with it the news of the feminist revolution in America – stories
of independent women who burn their bras and scorn marriage. Kalyana’s mother
and her sister Manjula read these stories with excitement for the future of
women’s freedom.
Aunt Manjula walks with a visible limp, which
prevents her from marriage – because she has no opportunity for real romance,
she ravenously reads trashy novels in the bedroom that she shares with Kalyana.
When she feels trapped at home, Manjula teaches herself to drive a car and becomes
a spectacle in their conservative community. Manjula’s independence, although it
was not her choice, becomes an inspiration for Kalyana – and she was easily my
favourite character in the novel.
Kalyana is a quirky child who is as precocious as she
is endearing. When she makes friends with a boy at school, she has no idea that
it will result in a life-long friendship and eventually marriage. Kirtan always
saw Kalyana as more than just a girl, and their marriage provides her with the
freedom she imagined as a child. When the two immigrate to Canada, Kalyana
leaves Fiji – and their former way of life – behind.
The move to Canada also severs Kalyana’s relationship
with her mother, which was strained already. Kalyana is haunted by a childhood
incident of sexual assault and the shameful silence that followed it. Her
mother convinced her to keep quiet about the experience, and Kalyana has
suffered ever since, blaming her for her own destroyed self-confidence – until she
realizes that her mother may have been speaking from her own experiences.
Kalyana’s trauma is part of a cycle of abuse, made more shameful by her time
and place – but still a universal problem for women.
This novel is about female empowerment and the
importance of education for girls and women. Kalyana’s mother weaves Indian mythology into
their everyday lives, including the importance of Kalyana’s name, which means
blessed and auspicious – although she does not always feel that way. Kalyana
resents the fact that her mother didn’t prepare her for the modern world, but
eventually she realizes that she cannot be free until she deals with the weight
of the past.
Kalyana feels very much like a memoir, with its first-person narration and
very personal, relatable issues. The political issues between the native
Fijians and the Indian nationals living on the island were intriguing as well,
and I knew very little about it beforehand. The disturbing content is authentic
and believable, and it was fascinating to witness Kalyana’s growth into the
woman she dreamed of being as a child in Fiji.
I received this book from Second Story Press and the
author in exchange for an honest review.
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