Books
Email
Print
Book Review: Deceit, Salvation: Story portrays sisters with realism
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: November 1, 2009
ATLAS OF UNKNOWNS. By Tania James. Knopf. 336 pages. $24.95.
In her debut novel, Atlas of Unknowns, Tania James weaves together a delicate story of an uneasy sisterhood alongside a family's struggle to survive their long-held secrets and misfortunes. She also gently presents and exposes the flaws in certain cultural traditions and beliefs that persist in present-day India, where much of the novel takes place. The Vallara family story begins in Kerala, India, in 1995, but the majority of the narrative is set in a post-Sept. 11 world and mentality -- a modern-day world where many in India still ascribe to the belief that "ill fortunes can travel along bloodlines," and both families and individuals can be cursed.
First there is Linno. Only 7 years old at the time of her mother's apparent suicide and the only person to witness the event, Linno does indeed appear to have a life that is "a deformity of fortune." She struggles under the same academic rigors in which her younger sister Anju excels. She endures more than her share of taunts when Anju begins studying at the same grade level as Linno, even though Anju is three years her junior.
Linno's sole gift is a talent for drawing, but even that becomes uncertain when Linno injures her hand in a fireworks accident at age 12. The hand becomes infected and is amputated. Linno's father, Melvin, works with her tirelessly after the accident to ensure she learns to write again. Eventually her aptitude for drawing resurfaces in her remaining hand.
Linno's younger sister Anju is no artist, but with her seemingly charmed life and academic success she feels little need to compete with Linno. Anju hopes to win a scholarship to study at a prestigious American school. All that stands in her way is one last interview, to be held at her home. During the meeting, she falters badly. All the applicants possess outstanding academic ability.
"So what," Mrs. Schimpf asks Anju, "makes you unique?" While waiting for an answer, Mrs. Schimpf casually glances about Anju's living space, her eyes lingering on Linno's prized sketchbook. In an unplanned moment of desperation, Anju claims the sketches as her own and thus wins her way to America. From this point until Anju's departure, the two sisters scarcely speak. The entire family is aware of Anju's dishonesty, but they allow the deception to continue in their desperation to get her to an America that has largely shut its doors in the wake of Sept. 11.
Once in America, Anju meets a mix of quirky characters who enhance the overall novel and give James the opportunity to showcase her skill at character development. The story unfolds through different points of view and differing time periods. Nonetheless, the eventual unearthing of Anju's secret and subsequent dishonor unfolds in a somewhat predictable manner and causes the novel to stall. After this lull, the story regains its steam toward the end, when more unexpected secrets are revealed and the sisters are reunited.
Much of the strength of James' work lies in the realistic manner in which she portrays the sisters, Linno and Anju. They are neither bitter enemies nor best friends. They are simply sisters, shaped by the same history in different ways. They need to escape each other and simultaneously need to connect to each other to move forward in their lives. James deftly follows the sisters' lifelong struggle to do both and, in doing so, creates a successful first novel.
Cindy Bunker is a free-lance writer who lives in Lexington.
Email
Print
