BOOKWORM

THAT QUESTION, AGAIN

Nowhere, Exactly by M.G. Vassanji, Doubleday Canada, $35.00. I have lived and worked in India and the Middle East and for the past three decades, in Canada. And I have done a fair bit of travel. But it’s only in Canada that have I been asked, “Where are you from?” in various settings and contexts. I have offered Toronto, Bombay and Bangalore with a short footnote explanation.

Truth be told, I identify myself with all the places that I have at one time or another called home. A citizen of the world like Nobel laureate Amartya Sen who lays bare a sense of self as both local and global in Home in the World.

However, even if you have never set foot outside the boundaries of the country of your birth, it’s still possible that you have multiple identities – familial, linguistic, sub-national, professional and so on. M.G.Vassanji posits that home is never a single place, entirely and unequivocally – the abstract “nowhere,” then, is the true home.

“Ever since, just out of my teens, I left my hometown Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to study abroad, I have carried within me a profound sense of loss and uncertainty regarding who I was, where I had come from, and what I had become,” he writes in his introduction to Nowhere, Exactly.

His sense of belonging, like yours and mine, is shaped by people and places. And the sometimes unbearable weight of haunting memories.

His moving account of seeking an identity within his Khoja Ismaili faith – a Krishna worshipping Hindu or a Shia Muslim or both? – and of finding a balance between his East African upbringing and Gujarati Indian roots speaks for every immigrant’s experience, a sense of guilt about abandoning one place and finding hope elsewhere.

Nowhere, Exactly is a beautifully written and thoughtful slow-pan exploration of one man’s soul.

ABOUT TIME

Her Space Her Time by Shohini Ghose, Random House, $35. Shohini Ghose presents the fascinating stories of trailblazing women scientists most of us haven’t heard of because their light was hidden under layers of prejudice and male privilege. The list is long and illustrious. Or would be, if we knew more about their work. It includes Bibha Chowdhuri who discovered two fundamental particles in nature, but finds no mention among famous alumni at her Kolkata school. Over 30 years after her passing, an exoplanetary system was named Bibha.

There is also almost no sign of Harriet Brooks at McGill, the first Canadian nuclear physicist and the first woman to obtain a graduate degree from McGill in 1901.

Many of these scientists railed against being categorized as female scientists. “Margaret Burbidge made headlines in 1971 for turning down the Annie Jump Cannon Award from the American Astronomical Society because it was awarded only to women,” writes Ghose.

Ghose, a physicist herself and the founder and director of the Laurier Centre for Women in Science, shares her personal experience of being invisible, the sole female in male-dominated classrooms. Things had only changed somewhat since the days when star classes O, B, A, F, G, K, and M – categorized by Cannon – were made immortal with the acronym Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me.

A tiny voice inside my head that would not be quiet kept wondering if I had the wrong combination of chromosomes to pursue physics.

This is not a nerdy book for science buffs and covers the conflict between career and family that women face, the choices they have to make. Ghose describes the “two-body problem” as it’s called, with both seeking academic careers in physics. Unable to find a solution, she “embarked on an academic career as a freshly minted physics professor” while her husband chose to leave physics.

As of 2021, the total tally of Nobel winners in physics and chemistry stands at 405. Men, 395; women, 10.

A MURDER OF FRIENDS

Friends in Napa by Sheila Yasmin Marikar, Mindy’s Book Studio, USD 28.99. Raj and Rachel Ranjani have invited their closest friends from college for a celebratory weekend in Napa Valley. On the agenda: three nights in the couple’s opulent vineyard mansion, a lavish dinner at Napa’s hottest new restaurant, exclusive tastings, and the grand opening of the Ranjanis’ ultra-high-end winery. It’s a reunion of six friends who haven’t seen each other in years. What could go wrong?

Mindy Kaling, who published this book under her imprint has this to say in her note: “If you’re a fan of shows like the White Lotus or films like Knives Out and Glass Onion, then you know a lot can go wrong. Very wrong.”

To start, there’s the less-than-warm welcome: a brick flung through a window and palpable tension between the hosts. But no worries – all Raj has to do is pop a few bottles of vintage Dom, and the college vibes come rushing back.

So do old resentments, animosities, and unrequited crushes. Soon enough, the illusion of friendship shatters like a gossamer wineglass, and one of the group ends up dead. Everyone has their motivations. Everyone has something to hide.

Sheila Yasmin Marikar presents a very real cast of characters, each with their own quirks and warts, their own issues.

Victoria, who rings up a great variety of merchandise as bananas at the self checkout. Avocados? Bananas. Gluten-free English muffins? Bananas. Shiitake mushrooms? At $11.99 a pound versus 20 cents a pound, definitely bananas.

David, who uses a wide range of potentially objectionable emojis in official correspondence.

There’s a nod to old Hindi films with Raj, Rachel and Anjali almost, but not quite, doing a Rahul, Tina and Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

“What does it say about us that these are our friends” Anjali said to Hari... “That this is the company we keep?”

“That we’re down with your borderline personality disorder as long as you pick up the check? That we’ll suffer through hell to feel like we’re twenty-one again?”

EARTH-FRIENDLY

201 Everyday Uses For Salt, Lemons, Vinegar and Baking Soda by Benjamin Mott, Sasquatch Books, $19.95. We tend to think that “natural, affordable and sustainable solutions for the home” will be passed down to us from grandmothers, or come from new-age, environmentally conscious ladies. Benjamin Mott belies the stereotype.

The professional cook, recipe tester and editor who shares a home with a partner, two children and “two very hairy cats” appreciates the health benefits and awesome cleaning properties of natural non-toxic ingredients.

The slim book contains ideas for cleaning, refreshing and preserving items in every room in your home.

Among them, a polish for silverware and jewellery, kitchen sponge disinfectant, tea kettle cleanse and leather scratch eraser.

Anyone who has struggled with a stuck zipper will also find the remedy!

And another for a toothbrush reconditioner before its time to send it “on to its second life as an appliance-scrubbing tool”.

THE LIFE OF A SAHIB

Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, Penguin Classics, $21.99. Those of us who know George Orwell through Animal Farm or 1984, will come to this collection of essays with some surprise.

Very personal, they are his views on imperialism and colonialism and life as a sahib in the British Raj.

FAMILY SECRETS

Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan, Random House, $24.95. A family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage. Their son’s and daughter’s lives are not exactly drama-free either. Over the course of three weeks the family uncovers one another’s secrets, confronts the limits of love and loyalty and explores life’s second chances.

HE’LL NEVER BE LISTLESS

Eliot’s Book of Bookish Lists by Henry Eliot, Particular Books, $27.99. Henry Eliot dives into the history of lists. “Five thousand years ago, humans invented writing in order to write lists: the earliest writing systems in Mesopotamia were devised to record lists of livestock on clay tablets.”

And away he goes on wild ride, listing weird, fun and not-so-fun lists.

To wit:

A list of literary amuptees.

A list of the ten “thunder words” in Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, each with 100 letters.

Or take the list of all the names of the seven dwarves in Snow White.

Eliot educates us on the fact that in the original, they were not named, and subsequent adaptations supplied their own.

These include Blick, Flick, Glick, Snick, Plick, Whick, and Quee along with the better-known Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy and Dopey.

As the blurb on the jacket says, if there was a list of books about lists, Eliot’s Book of Bookish Lists would be on top.

EVERYDAY HEROES

Imagine a Garden by Rina Singh, illustrated by Hoda Hadadi, Greystone Kids, $29.95. Award-winning children’s author Rina Singh shares seven real-life stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things for their communities amid war, poverty and violence.

In Delhi and in Canada, on Manitoulin island. And in a Palestinian village where a mother packs canisters of spent grenades with earth and plants flowers in them.

Children walk by her garden and wonder if this is what peace looks like.

WITH BEAR GRYLLS ON YOUR SIDE

You vs The World by Bear Grylls, DK, $23.49. What would it be like to have Bear Grylls as your friend and guide? To have him show you how to handle tough situations at school? Or how to face down scary moments? Discover the secrets Bear’s learned in the wild and how you can use them too.

LOL!

365 Days of Jokes, Highlights Press, $14.9. Celebrate every day of the year with over 1000 jokes. Here’s one for the first day of this month: What monster plays the most April Fools’ jokes? Prankenstein! Did you even know that there is an International Talk Like A Pirate Day? There is, with jokes to match!

TEEN REVIEW

By GIVA GOEL

Verity by Colleen Hoover, Grand Central Publishing, $16.57. Verity by Colleen Hoover is an enthralling and chilling psychological thriller that will leave readers on the edge of their seats.

The novel centres around Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who is given the opportunity of a lifetime when she is asked to complete the bestselling series of renowned author Verity. As Lowen delves into Verity’s unfinished manuscript, she uncovers a sinister truth that not only threatens her sanity but also puts her life in danger.

I think the characters in Verity are deeply flawed, complex, and real. The complex dynamics between the two women adds an extra layer of depth to the narrative, creating an atmosphere of unease and constant suspicion. The novel goes into themes of obsession, manipulation, and the lengths one will go to protect their secrets.

Overall, Verity is a provocative and intense read that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Colleen Hoover showcases her versatility, demonstrating her skills in crafting gripping suspense as she is in writing heartfelt romances. If you’re looking for a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the end, Verity is an absolute must-read.

• Giva Goel is a youth volunteer at Brampton Library.