82. "Pink Sari Revolution" by Amana Fontanella-Khan

Fontanella-Khan, Amana. Pink Sari Revolution: A Tale of Women and Power in India. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.

248 pages.

Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

Sampat Pal is a force to be reckoned with. Fontanella-Khan credits her with single handedly starting a revolutionary women’s rights organization in India’s most corrupt and crime ridden areas of Uttar-Pradesh. Pink Sari Revolution follows the story of Sheelu, a young woman accused of stealing from a corrupt legislator. Sheelu is arrested and the legislator threatens her family with murder and every number of unsavory crimes. Woven into this story are anecdotes about Sampat Pal and how she came to found the Pink Gang.

The Pink Gang works to free Sheelu and bring justice to the legislator. They use sticks to threaten police officers being bribed to cover up the crimes committed against Sheelu and her family. They use connections with local newspapers and other media to spread the story and they function with force by numbers.

Pink Sari Revolution is an in-depth study on women’s identities in India and truly offers a clear depiction of the current conditions of Uttar Pradesh. Fontanella-Khan has done admirable research by living in India, learning Hindi and spending plenty of time with the individuals who lived out this story.

The one critique I have of how Fontanella-Khan portrayed the Pink Gang was the way in which the violent crimes committed by the Pink Gang aren’t explored more critically. I understand that the oppression these women faced is like nothing I can ever fully grasp not having experienced it myself and, in some instances, violence is absolutely justified. What I saw happening a lot though, was the gang imitating the same violent and manipulative methods of making change that their oppressors have used. I wanted a better discussion about this but….writing is hard. Exploring a topic like this is difficult. For the most part, Fontanella-Khan pulled it off effectively.

This book is FOR people who: are interested in gender issues in India, who enjoy reading nonfiction, and who want to know more about corruption in India in general.

This book is NOT FOR people who: want a highly theoretical look at the Pink Gang’s methods.

3 darts out of 5

29. "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
291 Pages
Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

The Ganguli family story is rich, colorful, and full of intricacies. It is also full of insecurities, heartbreak, and a sense of homelessness. The Ganguli family is always just a little out of place. Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli move to the United States from India to start a life together. Ashoke works as a professor while Ashima stays home and raises their two children, Gogol, and Sonia. The majority of the story is focused on Gogol’s life as he struggles to develop a sense of self.

The Namesake flows effortlessly. Transitions between anecdotes and storylines are smooth and nearly flawless. Lahiri’s prose is both simple and elegant. To tell the story, Lahiri relies on sensory descriptions—describing the colors, shapes, smells, tastes, and sounds of every scene. As a result, the characters are exquisitely developed and it was easy for me care about them. As a reader, it is important the characters have depth and are not just empty devices to keep the plot moving. The novel is a genealogy, a Ganguli family history.

I have an uncanny connection to this story. When I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I too changed my name like Gogol does. I went through the same court procedure that Gogol did to become Nikhil. My new name was actually my original name—the name my mother wanted to name me when I was born—my “good” name, as the Ganguli family calls it. My mother named me something much simpler after nurses pressured her to saying that people would think the name she originally wanted was strange and difficult to pronounce. The name is strange and difficult to pronounce but it is mine, and I made it legally so just a few years ago.

Deeper questions and themes continue to emerge for me the more I reflect on this novel. I feel that in order to fully appreciate it, it will require more than one reading. This book is worth reading for its masterful portrait of an immigrant family trying to find their identity and place in the world.

4 darts out of 5