Under the Tamarind Tree

Title:  Under the Tamarind Tree

Author:  Nigar Alam

Publication Information:  GP Putnam's Sons. 2023. 320 pages.

ISBN:  0593544072 / 978-0593544075

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Rating:   ★★★★

Opening Sentence:  "Nine-year-old Rozeena stared ahead, squinting in the dark at the hordes of shouting people racing towards her family."

Favorite Quote:  "Like the powerful waves that must reach the shore and crash onto the beach, the past too must bubble up from within us, up and out through our lips. We must speak of it instead of allowing the pressure to build inside."

The author's note provides the historical context for this book. "Like Rozeena's family, both my parents' families crossed the border into Pakistan at the time of Partition. After celebrating independence, they joined the millions of people who migrated, who were displaced, who ran and became refugees. But historical facts and numbers, however horrific the scale, don't convey the true human impact, the life-altering consequences, and the trauma that ripples through generations. It's the personal stories that speak to us." In the five weeks prior to the departure of the British from the area, one individual was given the task of dividing the region into nations. Without knowledge of the areas and settlements, the Radcliffe Line came to be. This led to violence, devastation, and mass migrations as the families left India for Pakistan and vice versa.

Even with its dual timelines, this story is not of Partition itself, but the roots of it begin with that time and the refugees who came to Karachi and settled there as neighbors. The bonds and secrets of that time carry forward through the generations to impact the present. "Sometimes, many times, it is the unexpected, the tragic, that determines the direction of our lives."

This book is truly Rozeena's story. She is a nine-year-old at the time of partition. She is a young woman in the 1960s, as she struggles to define her responsibility to her family and her own role as a physician and an independent woman. "Shouldn't it matter which people are doing the talking? If it's people I don't care for, then why should I worry? I have to do what's right ... I can't only do what's expected. There got to be some balance, you know." In the present, she is retired, a mother, a mentor, and still the fiercely independent woman she has always been.

Surrounding Rozeena are family and friends. The childhood loss is of home, city, and especially the death of her brother due to the violence surrounding Partition. The story of the 1960s is of economic divides, friendship, responsibility, love, and a reckoning of all she believes of her life. The story of the present is a chance to reframe that past. Perhaps the chain of trauma and secrets can be set right for the next generations. "In her youth she hadn't known that excess could be a problem too. Just as a plant can drown in too much water, people can lose themselves in too much comfort, too much ease."

The story is narrated through "then" and "now." The history of Partition is brought out in the reliving of memories and the loss of her brother that has determined the direction of Rozeena's life. The "then" is the story of Rozeena and her friends as life altering decisions change the dreams of what might have been. The "now " is the reuniting of the friends that remain. "Some things happen because events align in  such a way to make them happen ... Sometimes there was a clear guilty party, but ... Sometimes, some things just happen. That's all. What you can control now is how you react to that awful, dreadful, tragic thing that happened."

I did guess most of the conclusion of this book. A couple of things about the events during Partition and the fate of one character seemed to come out of nowhere and seem unnecessary. The pace of the book is also slow and melodious but seems to pick up all of a sudden to the conclusion. Nevertheless, the characters of Rozeena and young Zara and the story unfolding keep me engaged. Given that this is a debut novel, I look forward to what Nigar Alam writes next. 

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.