You Bring the Distant Near

You Bring the Distant Near
Mitali Perkins
FSG, 2017 303 pages
Grades 7-Up
Realistic Fiction

Multiple generations and narrators tell the story of a Bengali family who immigrates to the United States in the early 1970's. Our first narrators, Tara and Sonia, relate what life is like with their demanding and strict mother. After moving to Queens they are not allowed to leave the apartment alone. They finally learn to fit in, only to move to the New Jersey suburbs, where there are a different set of rules--and then tragedy strikes. We see the girls grow into women, who find their places in the world, fall in love and have daughters of their own. The next section takes place in the late 1990's as the next generation relates how it is growing up bi-cultural in the United States Chantal is half African-American and half Bengali and does not feel fully at home in either world. Anna is raised in Dubai and joins Chantal's New York City high school as a freshman. She must learn to adjust to American life without compromising her modesty or sense of self. The story wraps-up in current times by the matriarch Ranee, who finally has her say and plays matchmaker to one of her grown granddaughters.

I wanted to read this book ever since I heard the author speak a year ago at Book Expo and have been hosting the ARC on my bedside table since then. Finally, I got to it and was SO glad that I did. This story is reminiscent of The Joy Luck Club in that it presents interwoven generational stories of women from another culture in America, yet is for a younger audience. Most of the book is set in the past, but I would not call it historical fiction. It is at its heart a realistic family story. The characters are richly drawn and the relationships that they share with each other are complex. Perkins beautifully conveys the immigration experience and young people straddling two cultures and struggling to communicate with their traditional parents and grandparents will find much to relate to here. I appreciate any book speaking to my Indian patrons and am happy to see this particular culture represented. Non-Indian readers will enjoy the story and feel as if they have made new friends after reading this beautifully crafted story. There is not much to the plot. It is a simple slice-of-life tale that focuses on the day to day events of life. Yet, somehow, it never gets boring and I loved every word.