Winter Reading

 The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

Pretty good book! Too Long! Too much philosophizing. Too many intertwined stories that go on and on. Too many lists of cultural figures and cultural trends and books and other intellectual references that are only somewhat relevant to the plot, and sort of bog down the flow of the novel. Here’s just one quick example: “Sonia referenced Bulgakov and Dinesen, Calvino and Rushdie, Morrison and Márquez.” (p. 66)

 

Is this a “novel of ideas” — well, maybe, but I would say Sonia and Sunny doesn’t quite make it to that level. At its center is an icon of a strange god or demon, which means something to both the main characters Sunny and Sonia. But it’s not quite an “idea.” Here’s where we meet this icon:

“In case Sonia needed a demon deity to keep other demons away, to keep her safe upon her journey, Mama had given the amulet to her daughter upon the eve of her departure to America. Sonia kept it open by her desk when she worked; sometimes she put a pebble or an acorn before it as if it were a writing god, terrorizing her, inspiring her. The demon’s name was Badal Baba, Hermit of the Clouds. But could Badal Baba protect her? He was even more a foreigner than Sonia was.” (p. 22)

Sonny and Sonia explores two identities, American and Indian, at great length, as it affects both of the title characters and many of the minor ones. Both of them speculate on what it means to be trying to assimilate into America and to deal with their obligations to their Indian families and how they might reconcile the fundamental difference of the Indian extended family with America’s different view of what constitutes a family or even an individual:

“It’s the premise of being American: You are an individual, therefore you are alone. Therefore you must be able to do everything by yourself. Rent a car at an airport, drive yourself cross-country to a job in a place you’ve never heard of, defeat your enemies, trap a rat, make money to pay bills to look after yourself even when you are dying—” (p. 253) 

“The melodrama and guilt felt Indian even while they tried to escape being Indian,” (p. 288)

One of the many plot elements of the novel is Sonia’s efforts to write a novel, including her various trains of thought as she attempts to figure out what she wants to write. This is a bit of a diffuse theme, but in fact only one of many diffuse themes.

“If she followed a rabid ghost hound, wouldn’t she become one? Just don’t write magic realism nonsense, she heard Ilan’s voice from inside herself. Just don’t write phony pseudo-psychology. Just don’t write orientalist rubbish. Just don’t write about arranged marriages. Just don’t write about painters; everyone gets it wrong.” (p. 608) 

Reviewing or even summarizing all the many themes and characters in this novel is too hard for me to do. I think the ambiguous ending of the book suggests that the author was herself a bit overwhelmed by how complicated the book had become. I will now give up!

UPDATE: Indians in America in the New York Times

An article published December 29  (link) explores issues about Indian immigrants in today’s racially changing America.

A 90-foot tall statue of the Hindu deity Hanuman stands on the grounds of a temple that
has earned the enmity of conservative Christian protesters.Credit...Miraj Patel for The New York Times

The Book of Dust

I thought I was going to read this entire trilogy,
but I don’t think I’ll go beyond this, the first of the three volumes.
Not as good as the first trilogy.

Review © 2025 mae sander