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Motherland |
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 Motherland byVineeta Vijayaraghavan Soho Press 256 pages, January 2001 ISBN 1569472173 Reviewed by Morgan Ann Adams [Reviewed from an Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC) ] Quite possibly the best book about India I have ever read, Motherland follows young Maya on a summer trip to the country of her birth. At fifteen, Maya is sent to India for the summer, as punishment for reckless behavior in the country she calls home, the United States. Full of adolescent expectations and conceit, Maya believes her weeks in Southern India will truly be the punishment they are meant to be. What she discovers is the family she has lacked in America, and the strong sense of culture and belonging that comes with such a family. The force of the story revolves around Maya and the grandmother who raised her until age four. This simple plot had the potential to be a rehashing of all other stories where an important elder positively influences a young girl. Vijayaraghavan takes this basic idea to the heights that it can become, creating a book of laughter and deep emotion. Coming from a fictional fifteen-year-old narrator, the story is subtly lyrical, filled with the complications and confusion that is adolescence in any culture. Through Maya's eyes, we see a world stuck somewhere between the past and the future, where the younger generation fights against tradition as elders struggle to keep their culture intact. Among other adventures, Maya finds herself inadvertently a prospect for an arranged marriage, a witness and suspect in political assassinations, and attending the heartbreaking funeral. This novel is successful on many levels. The tender coming of age storyline is obvious. Motherland is also an investigation into the modern mother-daughter relationship, where all generations must learn to cope with their ethnicity despite the country in which they live. Maya's sense of her own mother and grandmother is very different from their true identities. Interestingly, her mother and grandmother learn just as much about themselves as Maya learns about them. Vijayaraghavan's careful eloquence and quiet interpretation make this a book to relish as well as learn from. She eases the non-Indian reader into the culture by making intricate, though enjoyable, descriptions of everything from the Indian countryside to the authentic clothing and food. Maya's own interest in these parts of her culture enhances the telling. This is a highly oral book, filled with images of genuine food and speech and the corresponding lack of both in America. Complete with complex and personable characters, Motherland exemplifies what good can be found in new authors. Vijayaraghavan has skipped the usual awkwardness of the new novelist. It is rare that a novel has the capability to catapult its reader into a new universe, separate not only in geography, but in culture and thought. Motherland is successful in this aspect. It also succeeds in forging a tight bond between the reader and the characters, by its emotional interpretations and portrayals. A welcome addition to the fiction genre. Highly recommended. |
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