´Her colour is all anyone sees and it is an impediment. A scourge´.
With no future in India, recently orphaned, Divya accepts to accompany the family for whom she worked as a nanny to England. But as she is abandoned and left behind with no sources of revenue, she is forced to struggle for her survival. She will make new friends, will start working and use her fantastic cooking skills at work by opening a sought-after curry house. But the WWII is about to ignite, and she may be faced with a difficult choice: should she stay or should she give a chance to her burgeoning love with the sailor Raghu?
New Arrivals on West India Dock Road by Renita D´Silva is a story of resilience and survival in a hostile world. Divya is just about to enter my collection of brave women characters, decided to fight for her life at any honorable price. But Divya is not only fighting for her survival, she is also making a difference in the her community, through her delicious cooking and her well-spirited attitude. After the stories about the enchanted menu she prepared every day, I just wanted to have a warm curry with a spicy dessert and a cup of tea. Her friendship with Charity, an Irish young woman with a demanding family life outlines the role of women solidarity, that heart melting moment of kindness giving us the illusion that everything is possible.
I am no stranger to Renita D´Silva writing, and I am always captivated by her wordings, embracing the reader with the smells and colours of another world. From the very beginning, we are about to enter an ambiance that we are strongly convened through the strength of words.
The ambiance of the East End at the brink of the WWII resonated with similar stories and personal accounts I´ve been shared. The language plays an important role in building an authentic ambiance.
The ending is an open question about Divya´s future, and I really liked the idea, because after all, she found her home and from now on, she can trust the universe for what will happen to her. As an immigrant for most part of my adult life, I felt the character´s challenges and hardships, due to her different appearance. However, I felt comfort and encouragement in her achievements, despite the everyday racism. From the naive girl who just arrived in London to the adult gazing the skies, there is a dramatic transformation that took place in between, and not because she had an easy life.
New Arrivals on West India Dock Road is the first in the series of a new historical novel by D´Silva. Personally, I cannot wait to keep reading the continuation, and in general everything by this author. Her writing is beautiful and inspiring.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
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