Review of “What Lies Between Us” – Nayomi Munaweera
Nayomi Munaweera, in her second book, spins a
tale of a young girl from Sri Lanka who, after her father’s demise, shifts with
her mother to the beckoning US. From a conservative family to the freedom that
foreign lands offer, the book traces out her journey to self-realization. With one
tragedy in her past leading to another, the fogginess of her memories and the incomprehension
of what happened to her, she tries to get past the mercurial mood swings of her
mother who she struggles to understand. In America she sorts out her life on
her own terms and shies away from love because she thinks that her past was
still tainting her present. Daniel arrives in her life and brings little
changes and shows her that she is still lovable. She goes on to marry him but
keeps her past demons to herself. When a child arrives in their life, and not
by choice, they welcome her with open arms and big hearts. But, the little one
brings back her haunting reminiscence and she withdraws deeper into her shell to
an extent where Daniel is forced to take a few steps backward in their
relationship. Among the secrets that are uncovered much later in life, can she
still hope to have a better relationship with her daughter than the one she had
with her mother?
The narrative reads like an autobiography, and
is too realistic to be labeled as fiction. It is quite overwhelming and at
times you feel like you are her. You live her life; you love her, cry for her, feel
for her and sympathize. At times you hate her, want to tear the pages apart,
but you have to see it through, know who she is and what drives her to be the
way she is. She doesn’t understand herself completely; she is righteous, a
little rebellious, a lot more strong headed than her cousin Dharshi with whom
she shares her childhood. As much as her sometimes foggy brain can withstand
the weight of the decisions to be made settles upon her and she is left being harsh
to herself until love softens her up. The acrid waterweed clamoring inside her
heart is blossomed into full-bloom dahlias under the shower of love.
The most striking character of the book is Water.
It is used throughout the narrative to depict state of mind of everyone. It
forms the ever-flowing link from the first to the last page. It plays eminent
part in the joys and sorrows equally. It is the thread that binds the life of
the little girl with her young self, till the time comes when she finally accepts
the reality her life is and succumbs to it. At times the flow is smooth and soothing,
while sometimes it forms a whirlpool where everyone sinks to the great depths
till it finally decides to through them out. She, as a little girl loves the
monsoon, the cold water of the well and the creatures residing within her pond.
The fun swimming lessons her father gave her turns out to be a nightmare for
her when the gushing river swallows him whole one fateful night. Such is the
impact which water has on her life.
My take: Nayomi’s writing style reminds me of
Paulo Coelho. The way the words are used, scenes are segmented, help in
understanding the characters better. The turns in the story, the skeletons in
the closets, the self-realization and facing the truth is depictive of finding
one’s true self. I would recommend this book to all the girls out there, and I
can attest that there will be more than one instance where they fell that they
are reading their own life story, with just a change of character names.
Book Courtesy: Vivek Tejuja
(Flipkart)
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