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A review by jwsg
Sugarbread by Balli Kaur Jaswal
4.0
An absorbing read about a young Punjabi girl, Pin, trying to unravel the mystery of why it is her mother insists that she shouldn't become like her, why her mother has such a strained relationship with her own mother, Pin's Nani-ji, and keeps her distance from the Sikh community.
Apart from the plot, I loved Balli Kaur Jaswal's evocative descriptions - of Pin's trip to the neighbourhood wet market with her mother in the opening pages of the novel; her accounts of the racism - whether from ignorance, thoughtlessness or malice - Pin and her friend Farizah encounter at their school; of Pin's attempts to strike a deal and an understanding with God (whether it is Guru Nanak or Jesus) to make things alright if she behaves herself. She does a wonderful job capturing what it is like for a young child trying to make sense of the worries, cares and secrets of adults, how God and faith works, how to navigate the broader world outside their home with its little cruelties, malice and prejudices. The scenes from Pin's school reminded me, unfortunately, of the kinds of ignorant and thoughtless exchanges we had in primary school. On a happier note, reading the description of the wet market, I was reminded of scenes and smells from my childhood that I had long forgotten.
Apart from the plot, I loved Balli Kaur Jaswal's evocative descriptions - of Pin's trip to the neighbourhood wet market with her mother in the opening pages of the novel; her accounts of the racism - whether from ignorance, thoughtlessness or malice - Pin and her friend Farizah encounter at their school; of Pin's attempts to strike a deal and an understanding with God (whether it is Guru Nanak or Jesus) to make things alright if she behaves herself. She does a wonderful job capturing what it is like for a young child trying to make sense of the worries, cares and secrets of adults, how God and faith works, how to navigate the broader world outside their home with its little cruelties, malice and prejudices. The scenes from Pin's school reminded me, unfortunately, of the kinds of ignorant and thoughtless exchanges we had in primary school. On a happier note, reading the description of the wet market, I was reminded of scenes and smells from my childhood that I had long forgotten.