so-soA quick read as I nearly forgot I had book club tomorrow. Some stories were better than others, but I couldn‘t help but feel like many of these wouldn‘t stay with me long. The last story, in particular, irritated me in the same way that The Giving Tree did when I read it years ago.
pickSet either within a Bangladeshi neighbourhood near Toronto or in Dhaka, these short stories illuminate the varied lives of immigrants to Canada. I felt the emotions: the tensions between husband & wife, parents & children; the hopes of opportunities for a better education, dreams of a better life; the rewards of friendship; the perseverance through hardship; the disillusionment of unmet expectations. The complexity of a sense of belonging. #CanLit
“What‘s for breakfast?” I ask Amina.
“Porota, omelette, potato fry, tea,” she says with a smile, exposing her rust-coloured, betel-stained teeth.
Instantly my mouth moistens. Over the past year in Toronto, I‘ve only come to know cereal & Tim Hortons muffins for breakfast. The few times I tried the store-bought porota from No Frills supermarket, it felt as though I was eating rubber.”
[Three stories in this collection have Tim Hortons references]
Home of the Floating Lily | 
