This was another book I had to read for one of my courses. As an immigration narrative it came very close to home; the issues discussed, the neighbourhood described, the duality of identity experienced by the main character all seem very familiar to me.The plot is of course centred on the struggles of an immigrant family, trying to make it in Canada. It is straight forward, yet provides plenty of insight into the human psychology of an individual, trying to find his place and identity in a new country and culture.The characters are richly described. The author has the talent to introduce and talk about many different characters without getting lost in unnecessary wordiness and still represent the character as full and complete. Personally, I really appreciated the insight the author provided on the main characters; his thoughts, struggles and feelings.The writing was straight forward without any overuse of metaphors in order to drive some point home, the author let the characters speak for themselves. It was refreshing to read an immigrant story that describes it what it really feels like for an immigrant, trying to establish themselves in Canada.I actually used this book as inspiration for my own fictional story and final project for another course. I loved the structure and simplicity with which the author addresses many of the different issues immigrants face when trying to assimilating to a new culture. A story that should be read by many, it is enlightening and true.
Although this novel does provide moments of entertainment, the story as a whole comes nowhere close to being memorable or entertaining. The wrting style does illustrate Vassanji's excellent academic abilities, but unfortunately, it is not enough. The racism that is depicted is a noble ambition to attempt to shed light on a general social concern that exists within society; however, outside of this aspect of the novel, it is rather dry and dull. If you have have some extra money, I suggest that you buy it, read the back of it, and then set it to flaaames. Just kidding. Or am I????
