| Title | : | You Bring the Distant Near |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0374304904 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780374304904 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 303 |
| Publication | : | First published September 12, 2017 |
| Awards | : | National Book Award Young People's Literature (2017), Walter Dean Myers Award Teen Category (2018) |
Ranee, worried that her children are losing their Indian culture; Sonia, wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair; Tara, seeking the limelight to hide her true self; Shanti, desperately trying to make peace in the family; Anna, fighting to preserve her Bengali identity.
You Bring the Distant Near Reviews
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4 Stars
A book about five complex Indian women and their relationship with culture and race?? How is nobody talking about this gem??
Starting in the 1960s and working towards modern day, this follows a young Bengali family as they move to NYC-- notably Ranee and her children, Tara and Sonia. As the story continues on, we learn more about these characters (Tara secretly wants to perform on stage; Sonia joins the 70s feminist movement) and more are introduced, making this book primarily character-driven. All of the women are complex, flawed and interesting. Several of the characters make mistakes, or have opinions different than the rest of their family and it feels fantastically realistic.
This portrays Bengali culture in a fascinating and nuanced way. From what I can tell, this is an ownvoices novel, and I believe it shows not only in the nuances but the overarching theme that there isn’t a wrong way to be Bengali. Despite not being as conservative as her cousin, Anna, Shanti fights for Anna's right to modesty. Some of the characters are religious, others aren’t. Some are more sex positive, others crave their independence. They all embrace their heritage, but in different and unique ways.
Overall, this has some fantastic things to say about race, and opens up some brilliant discussions. Each of the characters has their own perspective on their race and culture, as stated above, and their interactions clearly show this:
“Who decided having less pigment in your skin was more attractive than having more melanin?"
”I’m not ashamed, but I no longer have a mannequin’s body. I don’t need one.”
“I’m not black enough for some people, but I’m not Indian enough for other people.”
She’s a Bengali feminist Catholic wife of a Louisiana black man. “Now that’s American,” she always says.
As much as I enjoyed this, I did have some problems with the lack of plot and abrupt ending. But more so, I was annoyed by the awkward and repetitive romances. While several of the character’s love interests were interesting (my favorite was Louis and his blended Louisiana perspective) the way the romance progresses were all really similar.
It basically went: Boy likes girl, girl is hesitant or doesn’t feel the same way, girl eventually comes around. The boys were never pushy, and I really appreciated this. (There’s a whole point where one character talks about a boy’s kindness makes him really attractive to her and YES GIRL. Give me a kind soul over a chiseled jaw anyday.) But not only was it repetitive, but it doesn’t feel realistic for it to happen five times.
Overall:
I’m still super surprised more people aren’t talking about this book. Ownvoices Indian culture represented in five strong, complicated women. The plot and romance were lacking, but the character’s really drove the story.
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for the opportunity!
(quotes not final) -
One of my favorites of the year.
- Spans countries and multiple generations of women
- Discusses intersectional issues
- Complex characters that stay with you for the whole book
- Introduces vocational trade careers in high school like fashion, and sports played in India
- Talks about Islamophobia and prejudice against women who wear headscarves and hijabs, and changes in attitude after 9/11
It’s so good. I’m obsessed. -
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan for allowing me to read and review this absolutely beautiful book by Mitali Perkins. What a gorgeous read. I absolutely devoured this multi-generational tale of love and family as seen through the eyes of a Bengali-American family.
The book this reminds me the most of is the "Joy Luck Club" although I found this far more humorous and uplifting. It begins in Ghana with a pair of sisters as young girls, and we get to watch little vignettes of their lives as they grow, move around the world, find parts of new cultures to make their own, and parts of their Indian heritage that are true no matter where they live. It was especially beautiful to read because there was such a contrast presented in experiences. Sonya, one of the sisters, is strikingly different in personality and life choices than Tara, the other sister.
Watching them grow, their mother experience life in an entirely new way, and the experiences of Sonya and Tara's children made the book just feel very whole and complete. It is very much a women-centric book. And while I think some books seek to horrify and shock, Mitali Perkins did such a lovely job of presenting her material gracefully. In making little moments count in big ways. I cried at the end. Truly beautiful.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.
Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader. -
thank you to my goodreads friend meiling for recommending this book! 🥰
i devoured it today, wrapped up in the lives of the five women in this multi-generational and multi-racial family in new york city: ranee, sonia, tara, chantal, and anna. the novel does a great job of asserting each character's individuality, resisting stereotypes and underscoring themes of feminism and self-growth. i would not have minded it whatsoever if this novel were 200 pages longer and explored these women's lives in greater detail! -
This was enjoyable, but so, so simplistically written. I couldn't engage with the story at all because it felt so transparent, like there was nothing underneath its words for me to grapple with. To put it simply, the storytelling was straightforward to the point of being reductive. Frankly, it ended up feeling like more of a middle-grade than a YA book to me. That's not to say that middle-grade is bad, just that it's not a genre I typically reach for or enjoy.
That being said, I don't want to undermine how diverse You Bring the Distant Near is. It covers a host of intersectional issues, and I never want to take that for granted. But unfortunately, it was the execution more than the content that left a lot to be desired for me. I'd still recommend reading this, though. The characters are likable enough (albeit a little one-note), and its multigenerational aspect makes it a quick, expansive-feeling read. -
Wow! This was another surprisingly great YA read. Actually it’s a book that encompasses several genres aside from YA- women, literary, historical, and general fiction. Told in different perspectives of the Das women from 1965 to the dot.com era, the readers get to see how the lives of these American women with a Bengali heritage transform and I absolutely enjoyed it.
“Maybe being American means you still have room in the heart for other things. Old things. Good things.
I loved all the perspectives of the five main characters in the story-their different but equally strong personalities, how they differ and compare to one another, how they all pursued their dreams, how they personally see their individualities, their citizenship, their heritage and culture, how they found love, and ultimately how they, despite the generation gap, still relate to the original Das, Didu or Ranee, who even though her POV is only until the last chapter, the book is largely about her too.
This was very entertaining, diverse, genuine, often funny, informative, so significant- so many important issues were lightly tackled including feminism, gender equality, identity crisis, patriotism, issues on immigrants, the 9/11 tragedy and so on. Reading this was a multicultural experience and in the end, it even managed to make me shed a few happy tears. -
3.5 stars
A story of cultural adjustments told basically in a series of romantic relationships. It is also "issue"-driven, but not entirely bluntly so. -
This book brought the distant near, but left my wig distant. Loved it! One of my new faves. Read it immediately.
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Full Review on The Candid Cover
When a book grabs hold of you and keeps you engaged right up to the end, it is safe to say that it is going to be a favourite. You Bring the Distant Near is a beautifully written saga that tells the story of the Das family and their experiences immigrating to the United States. Told in alternating perspectives, Perkins gives her readers so many unique and interesting points of view through her well-developed female characters. The Indian customs and culture that are told throughout this story are so insightful and add to the magic of the narrative.
Having never read any of Perkins’ novels before, I was so thrilled to read the delightful You Bring the Distant Near. The writing is absolutely breathtaking and the descriptions of the various settings are vividly told. Most of the story takes place in the United States, which has a setting that is relatable to some. However, when the story shifts to India, it is as if you are transported along with the characters, as they are reacquainted with their old ways of life.
It is hard to choose which of the five Das females is the one that I enjoyed learning about the most. Each of these ladies have such different personalities, that as the events unfold, you really get a taste for the different perspective each one brings. Ranee, the grandmother, is the character that definitely surprised me the most. She is so head strong and stubborn in her desire to ensure that her daughters maintain their Indian culture as much as possible. Ranee is the one that definitely goes through a significant transformation and is such a fun character to read about.
The one thing that gives You Bring the Distant Near its unique flavour is the way Perkins has added bits of Indian life into the book. The Indian phrases and pronouns that the family uses are seamlessly included in the story. They are explained in a way that helps readers unfamiliar with certain words to understand their meaning without distracting from the narrative. Food plays a large role in the book, and you will be salivating for a taste of Ranee’s infamous chicken by the end of the story. Even the clothing that is so important to all of the females in the book, adds a feeling of culture and personality to the story. Also, the music that plays a large part of maintaining the family’s heritage almost seems to play in the background as you are reading.
If you are looking for a diverse read, You Bring the Distant Near is the one that should be at the top of your list this fall. The writing is gorgeous and the characters are so relatable and interesting. All of the Indian culture that is sprinkled into this book will have you lusting for a taste of the food, clothing and traditions yourself. -
This was a wonderful multigenerational tale that follows a Bengali family who immigrate to America and mainly revolves around 5 women and their different relationships with culture, identity, feminism, religion and so much more. Not only was this a fantastic portrayal of South Asian culture and familial dynamics, it also explored biracial identity, Islamaphobia and anti-Blackness within Asian communities and was just a really great read all up.
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CW: Parental death and exploration of grief, racism and colorism (both challenged), aftermath of 9/11.
When I attended the NOVATeen Book Festival in Virginia in early 2018, I was ecstatic because it was my first ever book event. And I had the amazing opportunity to have some lovely conversations with YA authors. One such convo was with Jennifer Matthieu (the author of Moxie) and when she realized I was an Indian immigrant, she recommended me this book by Mitali Perkins with the idea that I would be able to relate to the characters’ experiences. While the book has remained on my radar since then, I never added it to my tbr because I thought it was too close to being a lit fic. However, recently I just had this urge to read the author’s works because I’ve only heard great things and I’m so glad that I decided to pick it up.
The first thing I have to mention is that this is a completely character driven novel, which not much of a plot. And it definitely worked for me because I could care less about a plot if you give me amazing well written cast of characters. This book is like a slice of life story of three generations of women across a span of four decades, and their varying experiences as immigrants as well as naturalized citizens - and I thought it was written brilliantly. The prose is riveting right from the get go; it captivated me on page one and didn’t let me go until I was done in a mere couple of hours. I can’t believe how fast paced it was for a story about the daily lives of characters, and how the author managed to convey so much in such a short book. I felt every single emotion that the characters did - Sorrow, joy, helplessness, frustration and ultimately love.
The five women in this book are the pillars of this story and anything I can say about them will not be enough. An immigrant mother of two girls who wants a respectable future for her kids in America but still wants to preserve her conservative Bengali identity, a young woman who is frustrated with all the restrictions that are placed upon her and uses her writing as catharsis for venting out her frustrations, her older sister who is burdened by the responsibility of being a dutiful pretty eldest child having to suppress her desire to be on the stage and not an engineer or doctor as she is expected, a biracial young woman who is frustrated with having to choose between both sides of her heritage when all she wants is to belong, and her cousin who maybe an American citizen by birth but feels much more connected to her Bengali and Indian heritage and doesn’t understand why the West is considered a paragon of all things progressive - the story of all these five flawed, strong, resilient women is told in such a seamless manner that you feel connected to them and very invested in what happens in their lives.
This book is full of thought provoking themes and while some are forceful in the way they are discussed, some are too subtle and nuanced - but that’s the beauty of this book. The main theme that’s very pronounced is how immigrants want to preserve their culture and identity even in their new home, but their kids want to assimilate and adopt the ways of the new country much faster. This distinction is particularly visible in instances where Ranee is always sad that her youngest daughter Sonia is of a darker complexion and living in a prominently Black neighborhood might mean that others would see her daughter as one of “them”; and Sonia is appalled at this discrimination and uses her writing as well as involvement in her school’s Equal Rights Club to fight back.
However, it was the other subtle themes that resonated with me a lot because there were things I felt too at some point of time after moving to America, and I was stunned by how realistically the author portrayed it all. Tara is an actor and the way she tries to fit in the new country and school is by watching American tv shows and listening to the popular music, trying to mimic the mannerisms and accent and hoping that it’ll make her feel more American. While I didn’t exactly do it for the same reasons, my basic American education was through TV shows as well and it felt a bit like seeing myself on the page. And I suppose it is true for many people who are in India or other countries, watching Hollywood movies and tv shows to learn more about the West.
Anna was another character I related to quite a bit because she is very Indian at heart and doesn’t understand why she has to completely change herself to fit among her American schoolmates. There is one very telling episode in the novel with Anna when she feels extremely uncomfortable changing in the locker room of her school because there is no privacy, but when she questions about it, she is told that we shouldn’t be ashamed of our bodies. I loved how this matter is resolved over time and the message that not wanting to be naked in front of others has nothing to do with being ashamed of our body, and that wanting to be modest is not wrong and just a different choice. This hit very close to my heart because I have faced similar situations.
To conclude, I don’t think I have been able to explain very well in my review why you should read this wonderful book but know that I highly recommend it. If you love books featuring the trials and tribulations of women of different generations and how being an immigrant shapes people’s lives, you should definitely give this one a try. It’s a very nuanced outsider vs insider perspective of both America and India and I thought the author did a brilliant job. However, if you like plot driven books, you might have to give this a miss. This is all about characters whom I could relate to so much, and I don’t think anyone can help but fall in love with them. -
***5 STARS***
Full review can also be found on Lair Of Books:
https://lairofbooksblog.wordpress.com...
PLOT
You Bring the Distant Near truly felt like a gift I was unwrapping Christmas morning. It’s not often that we get stories based on Indian culture yet here we have a multi-generational book spanning the lives of 5 women in the Das family. We first meet Ranee & Rajeev Das, the parents of Tara & Sonia Das as they move from Bangladesh to London & finally Queens, New York. Rajeev Das is a hard worker & provider for his family, his wife Ranee wants them to own a beautiful home in a safe neighborhood. The Das family has very humble beginnings in a apartment in Queens that is located in a predominantly black neighborhood. We see Ranee struggle with her own prejudices & how her fear leads her to restrict Tara & Sonia. We also get an inside look on her marriage & the disconnect that often leads to arguments in the Das home. Underneath it all however, is a whole lot of love. This book truly has it all! the immigrant experience, marital woes, intersectional issues, colorism, feminism, Islamophobia, complex characters and so much more. I couldn’t put this book down other than to shed some tears every now & again. Seeing three generations of women try to retain some of their culture while also trying to fit in to their new lives was rewarding for me as a reader. Having had some of my own family immigrate from Salvador to the United States, I knew assimilating would be difficult but never really thought about how difficult it must be to try & retain some of their own culture. I found myself rooting for these characters to win their battles & stand up for what they believe is right. This isn’t by any means a fast paced book, it is however a heart warming read that gives you a inside look to a culture & people not often seen in YA books.
CHARACTERS
The author kindly included a family tree at the very beginning of the book but I found I didn’t really need it since the characters were very well fleshed out. 5 women’s stories spanning over 3 generations, all so very different from each other but the one thing they have in common is their wish to hold onto some if not all of their roots. I LOVED all of these characters, they’re the type to stick with you way after you’ve read the last page.
Rajeev & Ranee Das- mother & father to Tara & Sonia are struggling to meet eye to eye when it comes to settling down on a place to live. Rajeev is sweet & the definition of a proud & doting father. He has a ton of love for his daughters & I found myself crying the most whenever he interacted with Tara & Sonia because this is the closest a character has come to resembling my own father & how he cared for my sister & I. Rajeev is incredibly supportive of his daughters & encourages them to follow their dreams. Our matriarch Ranee Das on the other hand is the law in her home & perhaps has the most character growth in this book. She has a ton of prejudices to sort through & we get to see her struggle with her marriage, daughters, grand daughters and her own internal struggle to both let go & hold on to some cultural beliefs. I loved seeing how realistic this marriage was portrayed & the underlying love that shines through.
Tara & Sonia Das- Since the majority of this book is told in alternating POV’s between these two sisters, I felt that I really got to know them. Tara aka Star is in love with acting, drama, entertaining, and fashion. She loves studying different icons on tv & imitating their style. This is something she sees as a useful tool whenever she has moved to a new country & started a new school. Tara is also the sister everyone considers the beauty who is sure to find a suitable husband. Sonia aka Sunny is a reader & writer, she loves retreating into her own world where she can journal & read non-fiction. The move to NYC places her on course to becoming a feminist & activist. I enjoyed seeing the contrast between Sunny, Star, and Ranee. Sunny is very vocal in squashing any prejudices coming from her mother which is why they clash the most. Sunny is also of darker complexion & we see the affects of colorism both in her home & with other Indian neighbors.
Chantal & Anna- the daughters of Sunny & Star, the latter part of YBTDN is told in alternating POV chapters with these cousins. We still get to see their parents but the focus shifts to their high school lives. Chantal is Sunny’s daughter & she is trying to find peace between her two grandmothers. Chantal is bi-racial & we get to see the very realistic familial battles that take place when two very different cultures come together through marriage. Anna is Star’s daughter & she for the most part has been raised in Mumbai. Her parents do travel with her to & from NYC to Mumbai but she has no interest in American life. We see her get uprooted & the difficulties she faces when trying to hold on to her roots.
Grandma Rose- doesn’t come into the picture til’ we meet Chantal later in the book but I seriously LOVED seeing her duke it out with Ranee for title of best grandma. Grandma Rose is black & is very involved in Chantal’s life. I loved seeing her pride & confidence in Chantal, she really is her #1 fan. Some of my favorite scenes were those between Rose & Ranee, these two had me smiling & shaking my head.
WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS
Rich in culture & family dynamics, You Bring the Distant Near is easily a top contender for my top 10 favorite books of this year. For any bookworms looking for #ownvoices reads, I highly recommend picking this book up. In just 320 pages we get wonderful character development & a ton of tough topics thrown in the mix making this one hell of a journey. I felt a range of emotions seeing this family try to set down new roots in a strange land while also learning to adapt when life throws you a curve-ball. I also found myself wanting more story once I finished reading & perhaps that’s due to how well it was structured. The alternating POV chapters between Sunny & Star and later their daughters Chantal & Anna really allow you to form attachments. This bookworm would love to see more of the Das family & their growing pains. I am so happy to have read YBTDN & wish only to see more from this author in the very near future *fingers crossed*
*HUGE thanks to Macmillan Children’s Publishing, Netgalley, and Mitali Perkins for the eGalley copy of You Bring the Distant Near in exchange for an honest review. -
I started reading this on the bus ride to school and finished it within a few hours! A wonderfully engaging read. You Bring The Distant Near is centered around five complex, strong women as they detail their experiences navigating life, friendships and first loves all while grappling with their identities, cultures and personal beliefs. Written in numerous perspectives, readers are swept right into the lives of these delightful characters.
The main thing that I enjoyed about this novel is how well developed the characters are. Each woman in the Das family is unique and multi-faceted. Mitali Perkins truly delves into each of the characters, tapping into their beliefs, frustrations, fears, and passions in order to create a well-rounded person that springs to life as opposed to a flat silhouette on the pages. Each woman has a distinct personality and this brings a fresh perspective to the events that occur throughout the story. Almost all of them undergo significant transformations as the story progresses and it only serves to enhance the grounded, candid nature of the story, adding a very realistic and believable element as the women work to correct their flaws, grow, learn and adapt.
Aside from the impeccable character development, You Bring The Distant Near provides readers with a very rich and enthralling style of writing that is highly descriptive without being tedious. Through Mitali Perkins’ narration and with the help of the characters’ eloquent voices, readers are transported constantly, whether this is to a cramped and congested flat…I mean, apartment, in Queens, New York or to a sweeping, picturesque view of the Ganges river, Mitali Perkins has the unique ability to move the reader along with her characters. On top of this, the way in which Mitali Perkins effortlessly scatters in different dimensions of the Bengali and Indian cultures gives the reader a special sense of understanding. Whether this is done with descriptions of food, clothing, customs or music, readers gain a little more insight, allowing them to feel closer to the characters and much more in touch with the charm of this story.
I have to say, the most beautiful thing about this book is the way in which the striking Bengali culture is depicted throughout. Mitali Perkins emphasizes the fact that each individual can and should express his/her culture in the way that they see fit. Though all the women in this story are different, they all showcase various aspects of Bengali culture in their own unparalleled way, further stressing the idea that culture is unique to the individual and the expression of one’s roots should stem from personal convictions and judgments.
Overall, this book will definitely be one of my long-time favourites. It explores important and original topics regarding, culture, race, and identity all while using compelling female voices to tell the tale. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially if you are in the mood for a diverse read! The writing style is riveting, the characters have a relatability that transcends age, race and cultural barriers and the story itself is pure magic! -
A complex and lovely intergenerational story about culture, about citizenship, about family, and romance. Each of the five characters are distinct, but what I loved is seeing where and how each of the five women make one another whole -- and how their different interests and passions run through their family.
My only real complaint is that the sudden shift to focus on Didu/Ranee in the end is sudden and that the pacing in this book is sometimes a little uneven. I think that's because I could have easily read another 100 pages more, fleshing out even further their experiences throughout the years.
Pass along to readers who are part of immigrant families, who love intergenerational stories, who want books from voices which are exclusively diverse, and/or readers who love interesting love stories. -
I seriously wish more people would read this book. One of my absolute favorite books EVER. I love this family, and I'm so lonely. I can't talk about this book with anyone because they haven't read it yet!
I'm not pushy when it comes to recommending books, but if this book was a person, I would marry them. Instantly.
What this book includes:
- First love and how challenging introducing and merging families are when you're from very different ethnic backgrounds. Outside of the black and white binary representation that is prevalent in the media.
- How a family of beautiful, smart, and flawed women lose their beloved patriarch and navigating all of life's infinite complexities without him. This is a book with women at its center, but it includes fathers and spouses who play an important role in shaping who we are.
- Finding your passion in life and striving for success while respecting your heritage and staying true to yourself and your family.
- Generational conflicts, Islamophobia, anti-blackness in Asian communities, and the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters.
- The deep love between sisters and how when we don't have the support of our parents we can always count on sisters to be there for us. Tara and Sonia embody this.
- Being biracial and assimilating into many different cultures. Moving from country to country and maintaining your roots.
- Intersectional feminism and choosing vocational careers outside of medicine, technology, and law that immigrant children are often lead towards.
This book made me cry, laugh, smile, swoon, and love. There's so much love in these pages, and it's a tragedy this book doesn't have a higher rating. -
Review to come sometime soon. This was an excellent tale of multicultural teens from one family through the generations. Each young woman had a distinct personality and set of experiences that really stuck with me. One of my favorite reads this year.
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I highly recommend You Bring the Distant Near. This may be a short novel, but it has a lot to say. It deals with race, religion, immigration, multiculturalism, multiple generations, and fitting in somewhere new. These are the kind of stories we need!
4.5 stars -
I absolutely LOVE this book! It may be categorized as YA but I honestly think it would do equally well or better marketed as a grown up read. Fabulous.
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Yeah, I am crying again -- happy tears, I swear! That was really special. I just wanted to stay with the Das women forever!
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This was such a beautiful multigenerational story, that carried us through forty years of fierce Das women. I fell in love with this family, and just didn't want the book to end.
•Pro: This was a heartfelt look at a family's history. We celebrated with the Das family, as well as grieved with them. We experienced their joy and their pain.
•Pro: Getting to spend so many years with these women allowed me to form an extremely detailed picture of who they were. We watched Tara and Sonia grow up, and we also saw Mrs. Das evolve.
•Con: I would have liked a little more of Shanti and Anna's story, but it's just because I really cared about what happened to them.
•Pro: I loved all the cultural aspects Perkins shared with us. I found so many of the traditions quite lovely, but what I really adored, was my trip to Bangladesh! Perkins did such a great job bringing us there with her descriptions of the sights and sounds, smells and tastes.
•Pro: Yes, I loved the sensory part of my trip to Bangladesh, but I really loved what happened to Tara when she was there. I could not wipe the stupid, sappy grin off my face for quite a while after that part.
•Pro: There were a lot of interesting ideas about race and culture explored. I especially connected with Shanti. When she said, "I'm not BLACK enough for SOME people. I'm not INDIAN enough for OTHER people," it struck a chord with me as my daughter is biracial, and was often considered not asian enough.
•Pro: I really appreciated the pro-American sentiment in this book. The current climate makes me quite sad, because I am first generation, and was raised to appreciate how my family benefited from coming to the US. This country is not perfect, but we are afforded a lot of privileges that one cannot have in other places. It was nice to see that this was acknowledged in the story.
•Pro: I just never wanted it to end. I could read about these women until I mourned each of their deaths. They were just such wonderful characters.
Overall: A gorgeously written tale of five fierce women intertwined with thoughtful observations on culture and race from multiple perspectives, which I am so happy to have read.
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You Bring the Distant Near is a wonderful and heartwarming novel about what it truly feels like to be an Immigrant in another country.
There are three options for an Indian girl, either study hard and become a doctor, study hard and become an engineer, or get married off. This rule isn't a problem for Sonia, she has outstanding grades, the issue is that she has fallen in love with an African-American man. Tara doesn't have the grades to become an engineer or doctor, and time is running out for her before her parents arrange a marriage for her. Her true passion is acting, preforming on stage is the only thing Tara wants to do.
The story and the lesson this book teaches is absolutely amazing. Not a lot of people can see this side of immigration, the wanting to stay true to your home land while trying to blend in to the culture of the place you live in. This book shows you the three separate generations and how they dealt with this, and every single one of their stories was absolutely beautiful and truthful. I loved reading about this part and I wish more people would read this book just to understand what it feels like to be an Immigrant.
The reason why my rating is so low, is because that I found this book to be a tad boring and very slow paced. This book mostly focuses on the relationships and how the family deals with problems. There is barely any action, and the book stays at the same pace for the whole book. There is no rising action or plot twists or anything of that kind, just relationships. While I loved reading about the family it self, I would have liked it more if there was at least a bit of action to make the story go by faster.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the characters that were in it. All immigrants can relate to this, and if you're not an immigrant I still highly recommend this book, it's a wonderful way for people to see into the lives of immigrants without being one.
Happy Reading,
Aneta -
I loved the shifting stories - from five women in the same family but different generations and drastically different experiences. Sweet detail in "everyday" but intensely important-at-the-time experiences, like the first day in a new school, and driving the boyfriend's precious car - wonderful. It builds a tapestry of immigrant struggle, prejudice, self-definition, identity - but that's all secondary to simply relatable stories about girls growing up.
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Full review to come
This is one of the picks for #BookNetReads this year, so we'll have a video discussion up hopefully soon. My biggest complaints about the story were all the ways I wanted more-- more time with each character so that it felt truly multi-generational, more plot, more variety in each person's story. I loved a lot of the relationships, I loved the interracial relationships, I loved the grandmas, and I loved the exploration of identity. -
Wow, this was wonderful.
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A heartwarming coming-of-age story. Five Indian women, family members over three generations, explore the unique aspects of identity as they figure out where they fit in the American story. A gently told story filled with grace & humor. A gem.
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This multi-generational story was about the Das family, a globe trotting Bengali family that coped with keeping traditions alive yet acclimating to American society. We meet sisters Sonia and Tara in the early 1970's once they move to NY, and they are fully fleshed out with distinct personalities and aspirations. We have time jumps throughout the book, so we can see how the family has changed after a few years in America and who the girls married, but then significant jumps have us meet their daughters Anna and Chantal in the late 90's and onward.
The book started out strongly and I was very invested in Sonia and Tara and their enigmatic mother Ranee. I would have liked more backstory on Ranee to explain why she was the way she was. But later on, the love matches for the sisters were perfunctory and Tara's career as a Bollywood actress didn't seem real at all. Cousins Anna and Chantal weren't fully developed, and Ranee's complete transformation at the end didn't ring true.
While I was pleased that the author is #ownvoices and brought a unique and welcome new voice to young readers, the strong start didn't follow through to the end. The novel is actually a 3.5/5 rating, but I'd rather round up than down since it had important themes of family, heritage and diversity in it and could provoke some important discussions among teens. -
This is Jhumpa Lahari for the YA set. And that’s a very good thing, indeed! Three generations of female Indian-American voices, from the Brady Bunch years in Flushing, Queens to post-911 Manhattan. I could confidently recommend this engrossing book to mature 8th graders because there isn’t any of what comes to pass as common in contemporary YA (graphic language, sex, drug and alcohol use, etc) but that doesn’t mean Mitali Perkins shies away from complex themes of racial identity, ethnic identity, feminism, and the weight of traditional expectations placed on Bengali women, regardless of a NY or a Mumbai address.
I really, really liked You Bring the Distance Near and will hand to my teen readers who loved The Hate U Give, Rita Septys’s novels, or whom are interested in exploring identity, growth, and coming of age narratives. -
"I like having three Indian grandparents, four if you count my dead grandfather. Here in New York, or back in India, they make me feel grounded. Like a tree with long roots."
I like this. A sweeping family saga across three generations of a Bengali family in the US and India. I would never have picked it up if not for the Lit CelebrAsian Book Club
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
It's their Feb/Mar book. There's twitter chat 24-25 March @LitCelebrAsian Looking forward to it.
And my first book for the Aussie Readers March Challenge finished.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... -
TW: Racism and colorism (challenged), parental death, grief
This was such a heartfelt, amazing read. You Bring the Distant Near follows three generations of indian women: A woman (Ranni), her two daughters (Sonia and Tara) and their two daughters (Chantel and Anna). It expands from the 70s up until present time and gosh, it was so heartbreaking in some parts, but all in all it was hopeful and real and the kind of story I really love. It's highly character driven and the characters are complex and their arcs so well developped. It's just. GOOD SHIT. -
2.5 stars
I was incredibly enthusiastic about the premise of this book--three generations of women in an Indian family, going through life and love--but none of the characters ever really came to life for me and quite a few of the plot developments passed by too quickly to really have an emotional impact. -
really loved this book. it explores the experiences of being an immigrant, being multicultural, and being multiracial through the stories of five women in three generations of an Indian Bengali family loving in New York. they had distinct personalities and their own ways of seeing the world. also loved the explicit feminist themes. :)
