Americans Summering in their Second Home
One aspect of Stranger in a Strange Land that has not been mentioned is the American child whose family resides in homes in both America and the country where the parents live. I am reminded of my cousins who lived in America during the school year to attend American schools and then spent their summers in Taiwan, where they were born. These dual childhood experiences are most frequently found in immigrant families.
In Naming Maya by Uma Krishnaswami, Maya does not want to leave New Jersey to spend the summer in her parents' birthplace, Chennai, India, as she has every summer. But this summer is different. This summer her Dad will not be there. Maya's parents are separating, and she and her mother return to India to sell a family house in Chennai while reacquainting themselves with their extended family and dealing with their family's elderly long-time cook Mami's erratic behavior. The rich cultural details of everyday Chennai summer life support rather than clash with the voice of the very modern American Maya.
I've visited Chennai twice, once when it was Madras and again last year after it became Chennai, and reading this book made me feel like I was back in India with the wonderful descriptions of food and clothes and customs. What interests me most is how Maya's trip affects the conflict of the novel. While country borders are being crossed, the central issue for such a story is not the child protagonist's conflict with "the otherness" of the non-American country because the child has already absorbed the other culture during previous visits. With Naming Maya, the core issue is coming to terms with the loss of her dad.
I'm curious about other novels and even picture books depicting two homes in two countries. Any other suggestions?
In Naming Maya by Uma Krishnaswami, Maya does not want to leave New Jersey to spend the summer in her parents' birthplace, Chennai, India, as she has every summer. But this summer is different. This summer her Dad will not be there. Maya's parents are separating, and she and her mother return to India to sell a family house in Chennai while reacquainting themselves with their extended family and dealing with their family's elderly long-time cook Mami's erratic behavior. The rich cultural details of everyday Chennai summer life support rather than clash with the voice of the very modern American Maya.
I've visited Chennai twice, once when it was Madras and again last year after it became Chennai, and reading this book made me feel like I was back in India with the wonderful descriptions of food and clothes and customs. What interests me most is how Maya's trip affects the conflict of the novel. While country borders are being crossed, the central issue for such a story is not the child protagonist's conflict with "the otherness" of the non-American country because the child has already absorbed the other culture during previous visits. With Naming Maya, the core issue is coming to terms with the loss of her dad.
I'm curious about other novels and even picture books depicting two homes in two countries. Any other suggestions?
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posted by Emily Jiang at 11:52 PM
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6 Comments:
This is a very interesting topic. I'm dealing with it as an adult who is raising two bi-cultural children outside the United States. I write about it in pieces for adults, but have neglected it in children's stories until recently.
I've felt that they are stories my children will be better able to tell. Being in either place is so natural for them now that the place would only be a backdrop to another story much like Krishnaswami's book. It wasn't always the case and since I've been the guardian of their childhood experiences I've seen some of them creep into my yet to be published picture book stories. I,too, am curious about other books. Thanks for exploring this topic.
Memories of Sun, edited by Jane Kurtzand Blue Jasmine by Kashmira Sheth.
Yeah! I completely forgot about this aspect. I myself spent three or four summers in Taiwan. I also have students now that spend their summers there. I think this is a phenomenon that occurs with immigrant families. I wonder if we'll be seeing more books depicting this type of cultural exchange. It seems like most immigrant stories talk mainly about assimilation and don't have the kids going back and forth.
Hi Annie - wow, how cool that you are living it! I've noticed a lot of these stories are based on real life experiences.
Thanks, cloudscome, for your suggestion!
Renee - I definitely think that there will be more of these kinds of stories. Yet at the same time, it costs money to maintain 2 households. I do think there are so many more Americans who are simply struggling to fit in, especially as kids and teens.
Thanks for your thoughts on Naming Maya, Emily. It's a lovely validation of my intent for the book, to present relationship to place as backdrop and context, not as the central issue.
Hi Uma! Thanks for your comment. I really enjoyed reading Naming Maya and following her internal journey in Chennai. After I finished, I was longing for a masala dosa!
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