Friday 18 March 2016

Canada Reads- book two

"Bone and Bread" by Saleema Nawaz



   This cover is interesting because the book is about two sisters, Beena and Sadhana Singh. They were born in Montreal, where their Indian-born father had owned a bagel shop but died young.  Their mother was a Californian (born in Ireland) who loved yoga and chanting, and she also died when the girls were teenagers.
   The girls had been very close and I enjoyed the description of this relationship: "We had a hard time knowing where one of us left off and the other began".
  Their uncle took over their guardianship and the problems began. "Uncle had come into our house like our own misery made flesh, and in his blunt bulk had become the wedge around which my sister and I could no longer see eye to eye."
  This novel alternates between two storylines- the present and the past.  In the present, Beena has died and Sadhana is unable to cope with her grief.  The storyline dealing with the past -the early years of the girls was more interesting to me.
  I'm not sure about the theme of 'starting over'.  This book is more about Sadhana's grief and inability to 'start over'.  
  I wondered if a book about grief would appeal to readers, but "February" by Lisa Moore won in 2013.  The theme of that book is an oil rig disaster in Newfoundland and a widow dealing with her grief.
  There is no question that this book is beautifully written!
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Who is supporting this book?

Farah Mohamed is a social entrepreneur.  She began G(irls)20, where one delegate from each G20 country gathers to work on methods to cultivate a new generation of female leaders.

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