Shani Mootoo

Recommended by multiple people, but especially my friend Laura, I picked up a copy of this and finally got around to reading it. The vibes are so perfectly magical realism: the intergenerational aspects, the story unfolding in jumps backward and forward through time, the lush atmosphere -- like you can feel the humidity through the page. Felt akin both to Rushdie and South American magical realism traditions.

But put queer people EVERYWHERE in the story. Just EVERYWHERE.

This story is show more heartbreaking and filled with abuse and injustice, and I have been on a streak of DNFing books like that, but what sets this apart is its resilience? We start in a present timeline that a long way from perfect, but has a promise of caretaking and community, and for me that made the dips into the past bearable. That and the abuse itself isn't what is centered, it's the girls and how they survive it.

I loved this, the whole way through. show less

Priya and her wife, Alex, have moved from Toronto to the countryside. At the same time, Priya shuts down all her social media accounts because she is trying to avoid all contact with her long-time friend, a straight man named Prakash. The blurb on the back cover makes this story sound like a thriller, but it is a psychological examination of friendships and love set in a context of homosexuality and immigrants of colour. The novel also explores memory and forgetting.

After six years, Prakash show more re-establishes contact with Priya, and she invites him to visit her and Alex. He jumps at the chance. Alex is not happy that she hasn't been consulted about having an overnight guest. There is a good build up of tension between the two of them, and within Priya's mind about her upcoming reunion.

I enjoyed the first part of the novel, told from Priya's perspective best. We learn her story and a lot about her relationship with Prakash, which is deep, loving, but fraught with tension. In the second part, Prakash arrives for his much anticipated and dreaded visit. I enjoyed this part less because it was more of the same....wondering and worrying...rather than resolving or escalating things. I guess life's like that.

The writing is very good. I might read more by this author. show less

This is an unusual but absolutely brilliant book. A few years ago when CBC published a list of 100 Novels that Make us Proud to Be Canadian I had read about 68 of them. I have added a few more and this one is the latest. Otherwise I probably never would have discovered this book. It came out in 1996 which was just when I was back in school and also working so I had very little time for reading.

Tyler is a nurse on the fictional island of Lantanacamara which is probably somewhere in the show more Caribbean. (The author is from Trinidad originally so she was probably using her background to create Lantanacamara.) He is hired at the Paradise Alms House but instead of using his nursing skills he is mainly doing janitorial work. Then Mala Ramachandin arrives at the home under police escort. She is all but comatose but Tyler starts taking care of her and slowly she comes back to life. Two gentlemen bring a slip of a Cereus plant for her and Tyler looks after it and gets the gardener to plant it. Some time later the two men return to visit Mala and Tyler starts to find out more about Mala's life. One of the men is Mala's age. Ambrose (Boyie) was at school with Mala. He made monthly deliveries of food to Mala until he was no longer able to do so. Then his son, Otoh, takes up the task. Ambrose and Otoh visit Mala at the Alms House often and soon Otoh is visiting on his own but he is there to see Tyler.

Sexual roles are fluid in this book; Otoh was actually born a female but he transformed his body to appear male and has passed as male for many years. Tyler is male but likes to wear women's clothing and makeup. Otoh and Tyler are fascinated by each other. However, Tyler is telling Mala's story so he resists adding details about his own life. He hopes that by making Mala's story public he can help find her sister, Asha, who disappeared many years ago. Mala asks continually where she is. This reader hopes that Asha and Mala were finally reunited but that is beyond the purview of this book.

As I said, this was a brilliant book. Highly recommended. show less

This is the story of Mala, who we meet as she is being placed in a senior's home by the court. She may have committed a crime, but the court can't be sure even if a crime took place. Mala is being cared for by Tyler, a male nurse. In this book, gender is fluid -- at times, happily and at times bringing dire consequences. Mala's story is tragic and the novel grows darker as we become more aware of her home situation. The plot is very well executed....bringing us to ever deeper levels of show more understanding of the strongly drawn characters. And the writing! Reading this book was a sensory experience. I could smell the flowers and hear the music from the gramophone. Really good. show less