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A review by ratgrrrl
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
5.0
CN. Arranged Marriages, 'Domestic' Slavery, Imprisonment, and Marital Abuse, Addiction (Heroin), Racism
This was another Audible sale punt that I might never have otherwise picked up, but one I am so very glad I did!
China Room is a beautifully told tale of generational trauma across multiple generations (great grandmother and great grandson) and continents (Punjab in South Asia and Britain) following the intertwined narratives of two relatives leading vastly different lives, both complicated by oppression, denigration, and a loss of self/ freedom. While one deals with the violent misogyny, including the abuse and tantamount slavery of being a Punjabi woman in 1929, the other struggles with the racism, othering, and, most tragically, the effect this is having on his father, falling through depression into heroin addiction.
Both narratives are filled with pain, longing, and dreams of a better, more free and love-filled lives with the weight of oppressive culture and colonialism casting bleak shadows over their lives.
There are moments of joy and hope, but Sahota never sugar coats the pain and trauma in this disparate, but tragically connected lives.
The thing that struck me most powerfully about this novel is the suffocating space taken up by so many of the things causing the pain, suffering, and trauma. It is not as if the book shies away from anything, but the point of harm is so personal and individual that a picture of everything not said explicitly is painted in stark negative space, forever looming over everything. The balance and oppressive force of aspects so clear, but rarely directly expressed is truly astounding and powerful for the contrast.
This is absolutely a lot to read in such a small book, but it is incredibly important and rendered with sublime skill and care.
This was another Audible sale punt that I might never have otherwise picked up, but one I am so very glad I did!
China Room is a beautifully told tale of generational trauma across multiple generations (great grandmother and great grandson) and continents (Punjab in South Asia and Britain) following the intertwined narratives of two relatives leading vastly different lives, both complicated by oppression, denigration, and a loss of self/ freedom. While one deals with the violent misogyny, including the abuse and tantamount slavery of being a Punjabi woman in 1929, the other struggles with the racism, othering, and, most tragically, the effect this is having on his father, falling through depression into heroin addiction.
Both narratives are filled with pain, longing, and dreams of a better, more free and love-filled lives with the weight of oppressive culture and colonialism casting bleak shadows over their lives.
There are moments of joy and hope, but Sahota never sugar coats the pain and trauma in this disparate, but tragically connected lives.
The thing that struck me most powerfully about this novel is the suffocating space taken up by so many of the things causing the pain, suffering, and trauma. It is not as if the book shies away from anything, but the point of harm is so personal and individual that a picture of everything not said explicitly is painted in stark negative space, forever looming over everything. The balance and oppressive force of aspects so clear, but rarely directly expressed is truly astounding and powerful for the contrast.
This is absolutely a lot to read in such a small book, but it is incredibly important and rendered with sublime skill and care.