The Sound of Language, by Amulya Malladi

Monday, April 05, 2010

Amulya Malladi’s writing continues to mesmerize me and this being the third book, I was sure of an exhilarating experience on reading the book. The picture of the Afghan looking deep into your eyes was enough to captivate me. As she mentions, this is a book where-in she takes a different plane instead of Indians; Afghans and they as refugees in Denmark.

As typical of other Malladi books, there is a centralized theme and the story so beautifully enriches it through the various chapters. Bee-keeping is the picture she draws in this tale and it finds a way to your heart like the bee dance. Raihanna moves to Denmark as a refugee from Kabul under the ferocity of Taliban and the fearful rumor that her husband is dead. As the Danish law, she would need to learn Danish language and find a job which puts her into a difficult spot, but the courageous nature and unhampered spirits drives her to Gunnar, a widower, the expert in bee-keeping, the idea being to learn Danish well as per the language school. The narration as the author paints Gunnar and his fear of loneliness is touching.

“He was bitterly angry that she was dead and he alive, still alive, unable to just lie down in the grave with her.”

I liked the style where each chapter started with a note from the diary of Anna, Gunnar’s late wife as it carefully sculpts the excellent observation skills – I felt I was harvesting the bees and relishing the warm honey along with the characters.

A wonderful read with a social message as Raihanna considers the veil and a stint about neo-Nazis, makes this a memorable read in under 220 pages.