Book of the Month
"Paradise" by Abdulrazak Gurnah
​Set in East Africa, Paradise is the story of a young boy's coming of age against the backdrop of an Africa increasingly corrupted by colonialism and violence.
Set in 1800's China during the period of foot-binding and rigid social hierarchy, The Lotus Shoes is a story of a servant girl with exceptional talent and her privileged mistress. As their lives intertwine through betrayal, scandal, and unexpected sisterhood, they each find the courage to voice their desires and rewrite their destinies. We may no longer allow servitude or equate delicate feet to a strong marriage proposal, but many of the themes from The Lotus Shoes are just as relevant today. In both Eastern and Western cultures, superficial qualities continue to determine how people view each other in society and women are still constantly criticized for their choices and their wishes. A captivating story full of vivid imagery and two characters who refuse to bend to society, both in their own unique way.
This American Woman by Zarna Garg
A couple years ago, my social media pages started popping up reels of an Indian aunty doing stand up comedy delivering hilarious zingers - all while wearing her bindi and kurti tops. I rushed to the comments section, my first thought being “oh no, I hope people aren’t being mean to her.” Quite the opposite - people were raving about her fearless authenticity! In her memoir “This American Woman”, Zarna Garg shares her not so glamorous behind the scenes of becoming the sensation she is today. Between couch-surfing to escape an arranged marriage to bombarding producers about her screenplay to taking charge as a stay-at-home mom, her unwavering resilience and unapologetic authenticity lead her to discovering her calling in comedy. Often when I see “normal people” who have made it big, I tend to convince myself their circumstances are too different from mine to even compare, but while reading Zara’s story, there were so many moments that mirrored the household I grew up in (down to my own mom making me teach my class about Diwali) that left me genuinely believing that there’s no such thing as thinking too big.