South Asian Canadian Fiction Authors You Should Know – part 2
As promised, here is part 2 of yesterday’s post about South Asian Canadian Authors You Should Know: Tariq Malik (M): Pakistani Canadian author Malik has published two books through small presses, 2004’s Rainsongs of Kotli and last year’s Chanting Denied Shores. The first book is a series of short stories set in the mountainous Kotli District of Pakistan, the second is a novel set against the back drop of a real historical event, the 1914 arrival in Vancouver of a ship called the Komagata Maru that carried hundreds of Indian immigrants. Shani Mootoo (M): Born in Ireland, of South Asian heritage, raised in Trinidad and now a Canadian resident, Mootoo is a global author whose writings address questions of culture, sexuality and class. Her first novel, Cereus Blooms at Night, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, and she has been included in the long lists for other major prizes, but Mootoo remains far from a house hold name in Canada. Her most recent novel Valmiki’s Daughter was released in 2008. From the publisher: “The story circles around a well-to-do Trinidadian family, in particular, Valmiki, a renowned doctor and loving if confused father, and his youngest daughter, Viveka, lively, intelligent, and intent on escaping the gilded cage that protects but also smothers her . . . Mootoo writes with an unusual combination of clear-eyed affection and expansive humanity about society and its hierarchies…” Shyam Selvadurai (M): Sri Lankan Canadian author Selvadurai won the Amazon/Books in Canada First novel award in 1994 for Funny Boy. His 2005 novel Swimming in the Moonsoon Sea (described by a Halifax Public Libraries readers’ adviser as “A novel for older teens and adults. A modern coming of age narrative, set against the beautiful backdrop of Sri Lanka, that also explores the cross pollination of modern cultures”) won a Lambda Literary award. If you want to further explore South Asian writing, consider also Story-Wallah! A Celebration of South Asian Fiction(M), edited by Shyam Selvadurai, featuring stories from authors from all across the world.
