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Canadian Authors - General fiction - |
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What Was Always Hers |
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 What Was Always Hers byUma Parameswaran Broken Jaw Press 207 Pages, 1999 ISBN 189664712X Reviewed by Zaheera Jiwaji Winner of the Jubilee Award for short stories [Canadian Authors Association]. Uma Parameswaran's What Was Always Hers was recently awarded the Jubilee Award for short stories by the Canadian Authors Association, where she joins a list of cherished Canadian writers, including Alice Munro and Joanne Gerber. The title story What Was Always Hers leads this collection of five stories, which all deal in some way with the Indian immigrant experience in Canada. Niranjan, an activist for agricultural Indians working in the British Columbia fruit belt, marries Veeru, a rather naive young woman from India. This is the story of her awakening. Beautifully conceptualized, the reader follows her development from a newly-arrived immigrant into a confident and secure wife and mother. The marriage holds secrets, which when revealed unleash a series of events that will bring Veeru a greater knowledge of herself. This story introduces several common elements present in the other four: self-knowledge and self-realization, both personal and cultural, from a woman's point of view. The second story, entitled Maru and the M.M. Syndrome, told with a remarkable shift in voice and place from the first, is the charming tale of a woman who on the surface appears to be the opposite of the early Veeru. Maru, a married woman approaching middle age, lives a comfortable and successful life with Siv, her scientist husband. When Maru starts to suspect that Siv may be suffering from 'male menopause' [hence, the title, M.M Syndrome], she decides to keep a watchful eye, fearing the influence of curvaceous blondes. In a delightful twist, Maru and Siv find themselves entertaining a visiting water diviner. At this point, elements of the occult and paranormal are introduced, contrasting the God of Western science with the God of Eastern traditions. Parameswaran writes from the heart as an Indo-Canadian woman relating life in present day Canada, with all its riches and its flaws. We are convinced that some of the author’s characteristics may exist in the protagonists, lending an air of authenticity, resulting in powerful and enduring stories told with a touch of delightful humor. What Was Always Hers is a collection that offers the promise of more excellent writing from this talented writer. Uma Parameswaran is a Professor of English at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. |
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