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jbabiarz's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book up randomly at the library. The cover and title intrigued me, so I decided to give it a go. Usually when this happens, I am disappointed. But not in this case! I enjoyed it very much.
solanpolarn's review against another edition
3.0
Strange but compelling tale of two sisters in India; one is a talented artist, the other a good student. To get a studentship and a visa to study in New York the latter 'borrows' the artistic taker of the former. Complications ensue.
moirastone's review against another edition
3.0
A pleasurable day's read. Like the best debuts, it feels like a big exhale - a surfeit of stories, empathy, humor and (alas) plot. Left me wanting more, and eager to see if Tania James has another book in her.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes, just for a change of pace, I like to take a side trip into an author's back catalog. That's how I happened upon Atlas of Unknowns—it was an impulse, after I heard about James's latest novel, [b:The Tusk That Did the Damage|22318387|The Tusk That Did the Damage|Tania James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1412793698l/22318387._SX50_.jpg|41711573], which sounded quite good but not exactly what I was in the mood for. I decided to see if James had written any other books, and if (even better) I could check one out from the library for a full four weeks without waiting on a holds list.
When I read the publisher's blurb for Atlas of Unknowns, I was intrigued. Two sisters, Linno and Anju, live with their father and grandmother in the Indian state of Kerala. The girls' mother is dead, though the cause and circumstances aren't clear at first because the family doesn't discuss it. When Linno suffers a disfiguring accident and withdraws within herself, it is as if the sisters' relationship grows into a tangle of thorns, too sharp and dense to pass through without pain. Anju escapes to the US on a student visa obtained on the basis of a lie, setting in motion a reckoning for both sisters, forcing them to grapple with their individual guilt and confront the truth of what happened to their mother.
James's prose is lovely, dense, not the kind you can easily speed through. The undeniable connection between Linno and Anju resonated within me, and the way their regret and shame from the past threatened to separate them broke my heart.
I love books like this, that bring the invisible fissures between family members into focus, that make the tiniest detail into something that looms large with meaning. Atlas of Unknowns is one back catalog excursion I'm glad I made time for.
When I read the publisher's blurb for Atlas of Unknowns, I was intrigued. Two sisters, Linno and Anju, live with their father and grandmother in the Indian state of Kerala. The girls' mother is dead, though the cause and circumstances aren't clear at first because the family doesn't discuss it. When Linno suffers a disfiguring accident and withdraws within herself, it is as if the sisters' relationship grows into a tangle of thorns, too sharp and dense to pass through without pain. Anju escapes to the US on a student visa obtained on the basis of a lie, setting in motion a reckoning for both sisters, forcing them to grapple with their individual guilt and confront the truth of what happened to their mother.
James's prose is lovely, dense, not the kind you can easily speed through. The undeniable connection between Linno and Anju resonated within me, and the way their regret and shame from the past threatened to separate them broke my heart.
I love books like this, that bring the invisible fissures between family members into focus, that make the tiniest detail into something that looms large with meaning. Atlas of Unknowns is one back catalog excursion I'm glad I made time for.
silodear's review against another edition
5.0
So good! Another book full of powerful everyday misses and things that aren't at all what they seem. I loved the way that Tania James told this story, unweaving and reweaving history. This book shows an understanding of family and communication that is deep and full of wounds. I loved it.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘But the water, having no memory, moves on.’
After the death of their mother Gracie, Linno and Anju are raised in Kerala by their father, Melvin, and their grandmother Ammachi. Anju wins a scholarship to a prestigious school in America, and lies, thus betraying her sister to accept it. Anju’s lie is uncovered a few months into her scholarship, and her life changes. Fleeing from her host family, Anju works in a beauty salon and tries to obtain a green card. Linno, seeking to travel to America to find her sister, earns money by creating handmade invitations.
The stories of Linno and Anju are not the only stories in this novel which provides both strength and weakness. The mystery of Gracie’s death, the differences between life in Kerala and New York City, and the role of Bird who becomes Anju’s protector in New York City add layers to the story. The strength is that this provides a depth and complexity to the story, the weakness is that the stories of the sisters become overshadowed at times by the events of the past. While this detail enriches the story and provides cultural context and colour, I am ambivalent about the way it shapes the journey. I enjoyed the novel: the stories of Linno and Anju caught and kept my attention. But at the end of the novel I wondered about all of the other characters who had been involved.
This is an impressive debut novel and I’ll be looking out for other novels by Ms James.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
After the death of their mother Gracie, Linno and Anju are raised in Kerala by their father, Melvin, and their grandmother Ammachi. Anju wins a scholarship to a prestigious school in America, and lies, thus betraying her sister to accept it. Anju’s lie is uncovered a few months into her scholarship, and her life changes. Fleeing from her host family, Anju works in a beauty salon and tries to obtain a green card. Linno, seeking to travel to America to find her sister, earns money by creating handmade invitations.
The stories of Linno and Anju are not the only stories in this novel which provides both strength and weakness. The mystery of Gracie’s death, the differences between life in Kerala and New York City, and the role of Bird who becomes Anju’s protector in New York City add layers to the story. The strength is that this provides a depth and complexity to the story, the weakness is that the stories of the sisters become overshadowed at times by the events of the past. While this detail enriches the story and provides cultural context and colour, I am ambivalent about the way it shapes the journey. I enjoyed the novel: the stories of Linno and Anju caught and kept my attention. But at the end of the novel I wondered about all of the other characters who had been involved.
This is an impressive debut novel and I’ll be looking out for other novels by Ms James.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
misskjm's review against another edition
5.0
This was a vey interesting story. The author understands both cultures extremely well and is very good at showing us the clashes between the two. These two sisters have such difficult lives (emotionally), which was very compelling to read.
rbharath's review against another edition
2.0
This is a story which had potential as it follows the lives of two sisters from a Christian family in Kerala, with their interactions & experiences with multiple cultures. As a debut work of the author, I suppose there will always be some learnings for the next one. For me, this one fell short, largely due to the lack of adequate character development.
Linno and Anju are sisters, part of the Vallara family in Kerala. Their mother Gracie has passed away and their dad Melvin works as a driver. As a result of a fire accident in childhood, Linno loses her hand. This tragedy limits her potential, but she finds her own in the arts. Anju gets an opportunity to go to the US on a scholarship, but she uses some misrepresentation to gain an advantage. Anju stays with an Indian American family (their son Rohit is an extremely silly character) to start with as she attends college. Linno, on the other hand in India, starts small with some paintings on windows & walls but soon starts getting more rewarding work. Anju is keen to get permanent residency in the US, but after getting into trouble, it becomes an uphill battle to even maintain her status in the US. However, a lady called Bird, treats her like a daughter, and her support gives Anju hope.
The settings have an authentic feel as there are sprinklings of words & mannerisms which are appropriate to the culture and location. However, this is largely sketchy, including some political & cultural references which have no follow-up or depth. The characters are flat & listless, and it is almost as if they are hiding themselves from the reader. There is a twist regarding Linno & Anju’s mother Gracie’s death at the end, which further weakens the story, rather than strengthening it.
I found it disappointing, but then for a first book, the writing is pretty decent.
Linno and Anju are sisters, part of the Vallara family in Kerala. Their mother Gracie has passed away and their dad Melvin works as a driver. As a result of a fire accident in childhood, Linno loses her hand. This tragedy limits her potential, but she finds her own in the arts. Anju gets an opportunity to go to the US on a scholarship, but she uses some misrepresentation to gain an advantage. Anju stays with an Indian American family (their son Rohit is an extremely silly character) to start with as she attends college. Linno, on the other hand in India, starts small with some paintings on windows & walls but soon starts getting more rewarding work. Anju is keen to get permanent residency in the US, but after getting into trouble, it becomes an uphill battle to even maintain her status in the US. However, a lady called Bird, treats her like a daughter, and her support gives Anju hope.
The settings have an authentic feel as there are sprinklings of words & mannerisms which are appropriate to the culture and location. However, this is largely sketchy, including some political & cultural references which have no follow-up or depth. The characters are flat & listless, and it is almost as if they are hiding themselves from the reader. There is a twist regarding Linno & Anju’s mother Gracie’s death at the end, which further weakens the story, rather than strengthening it.
I found it disappointing, but then for a first book, the writing is pretty decent.
sarahbowman101's review against another edition
4.0
Anju and Linno are teenage sisters in a small town in Kerala. Their father is a driver and they also live with their grandmother, their mother having died when the girls were young. Linno is an introverted artist who lost her hand in a firecracker accident. Anju is smart and ambitious and while she earns a competitive scholarship to a prestigious prep school in New York City, the deceit it took to get there might prove too much. Most of the book follows Anju, which was interesting but I felt missed too much of Linno's story. Flashbacks to their mother were both telling and confusing. Not great, but accessible and interesting, this could be an easy recommendation for most fiction readers.
jessferg's review against another edition
2.0
Overall, I'm disappointed in this book.
I enjoyed the beginning a lot and was interested in the characters and the story but by page 160 or so I was getting a little tired of it. The characters became kind of static and there was no real movement of the plot.
Somehow I missed everything the jacket flap said I would find ("gifts of an old-fashioned storyteller - engrossing drama, flawless control of plot, beautifully drawn character, surprises around every turn - ..." Really?) I also missed all the sister/mother/female bonding that many other readers seemed to find so integral to this book. All of the women in this book seem selfish and weak. Every one of them gains any level of "success" by relying on or using someone else and they don't really seem that invested in each other.
The "drama" is so anti-climactic as to be non-existent. For example, there's a lot of build up around money and an immigration lawyer and then suddenly he's in jail and we just forget that was ever part of the plot. Even the pivot point (which I will try not to spoil) is just handed over. It's like James is thinking "eh, they've figured out how this is going to go - let's just get it over with." Trust me, there are no surprises.
In addition, I'd hoped that maybe there would be a lot of cultural reference to Indian traditions since the author is clearly trying to make a contrast between India and the United States - but there really isn't. So the sari shop reminds Anju of home. So they eat food that's hard to pronounce. None of this really gives insight to the non-Indian reader. Even the most ignorant of Indian culture won't find anything to make them get a feel for the country or its people.
I guess I'm frustrated that I found this read to be the exact opposite of all it was purported to be - but I won't deter you from reading it and finding out for yourself.
I enjoyed the beginning a lot and was interested in the characters and the story but by page 160 or so I was getting a little tired of it. The characters became kind of static and there was no real movement of the plot.
Somehow I missed everything the jacket flap said I would find ("gifts of an old-fashioned storyteller - engrossing drama, flawless control of plot, beautifully drawn character, surprises around every turn - ..." Really?) I also missed all the sister/mother/female bonding that many other readers seemed to find so integral to this book. All of the women in this book seem selfish and weak. Every one of them gains any level of "success" by relying on or using someone else and they don't really seem that invested in each other.
The "drama" is so anti-climactic as to be non-existent. For example, there's a lot of build up around money and an immigration lawyer and then suddenly he's in jail and we just forget that was ever part of the plot. Even the pivot point (which I will try not to spoil) is just handed over. It's like James is thinking "eh, they've figured out how this is going to go - let's just get it over with." Trust me, there are no surprises.
In addition, I'd hoped that maybe there would be a lot of cultural reference to Indian traditions since the author is clearly trying to make a contrast between India and the United States - but there really isn't. So the sari shop reminds Anju of home. So they eat food that's hard to pronounce. None of this really gives insight to the non-Indian reader. Even the most ignorant of Indian culture won't find anything to make them get a feel for the country or its people.
I guess I'm frustrated that I found this read to be the exact opposite of all it was purported to be - but I won't deter you from reading it and finding out for yourself.