Homesick

July 1, 2012
A series of loosely concatenated stories focusing on the lives of first and second generation Sri Lankan immigrants in England. The eponymous opening story introduces us to a large cast of characters, most of whom will play significant roles in later stories. The occasion for bringing everyone together is a 1982 New Year's Eve party at Victor and Nandini's home. Preethi, one of their three children, plays a particularly prominent role as we move through the book, for Fernando traces the vagaries of her romances, her marriage and her relationship to her own children. At the party, in an achingly honest response to the notion of their living out their dreams, Victor cries, "We belong nowhere...But if we belong anywhere, it is here. I have chosen here." The desire to find a home indeed drives many of the characters, for they try to settle down, sometimes with the dreaded "white fellows" feared by Nandini's brother. "Sophocles' Chorus" explores the first love relationship of the 17-year-old Preethi and Ollie, a golden "boy-man" all of the girls aspire to. He casts a shadow over Freddie, who's a great friend of Preethi's but who yearns to be more. In a later story we learn that Preethi's brother Rohan is struggling with his sexuality, for he feels attracted to both men and women. In "Honey Skin" we meet the 80-year-old Dorothy and discover she recently lost her husband, Hugo (who briefly appeared at the New Year's Eve party), but still misses the sexual connection she had to him even though for years she's fantasized about women. The penultimate story, "Meta General," informs us that Preethi's husband has lost his job, a victim of the 21st century economic downturn, while the final story focuses on the loss of a beloved aunt. Fernando writes expressively and finds an appropriate emotional correlative to convey a variety of tones, from nostalgic to tragic.

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September 1, 2012

Introducing an extended Sri Lankan family living in the UK, this debut collection of linked short stories spans several decades, from the 1980s to the Tube bombing in July 2005. The language creates an immediate sense of intimacy with Fernando's many characters, among them Preethi, who poignantly sums up the alienation of the immigrant, which is an essential element of the book: "Here we are in England and we're different, and there we are in Sri Lanka and we're different. Nowhere is home. And it makes me so angry. I want to feel I belong." Similarly, "Fluorescent Jacket," a finalist for the (London) Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Prize, skillfully captures the dramatic effects of being an outcast in a new country where the language, culture, and climate are foreign. VERDICT As a partially complete manuscript, this collection earned the London-born Fernando the 2009 Impress Prize for New Writers. It will establish her place among other gifted writers who portray Sri Lankans living in or outside their homeland, including Shyam Selvadurai (Funny Boy), Roma Tearne (Mosquito), and Nihal de Silva (The Road from Elephant Pass). Highly recommended.--Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Libs., Corvallis

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July 1, 2012
Fernando's debut work is a nuanced tale, covering in equal measure the specific experience of Sri Lankan immigrants in England and universal family dramas that span from the 1970s to the present. Though a nuclear family forms a loose core to the book, it is dotted with excursions into the experiences of a wide cast of characters. There is a closeted doctor, a would-be suicide bomber, and a suicidal teenager who, surviving, is later in life captured by military forces in Sri Lanka. There is a loving foster mother and a child molester. Lives are followed from birth to youth, youth to middle age, middle age to death, but only in brief snapshots. It is, in a way, an impressive tapestry; though occasionally bewildering, Fernando's penchant for throwing the narrative suddenly into a new tangent, for diving headfirst into a new character's mind, is effective. There is depth as well as breadth here. But some essential spark seems to be missing, perhaps some connective tissue, as the sum of all this fails to resonate in a lasting way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)