The Pleasure Seekers
by Tishani Doshi
The dual heritages of India and Wales come together in this funny, bittersweet tale spanning four generations of Patels from dancer and poet, Tishani Doshi. Exploring integration, adaptability and the power of family bonds, Doshi treads that age-old ‘immigrant tale’ ground of where is home/what is my identity with a degree of originality. The Welsh setting helps and the characters all bustle with eccentricities and warmth.
When Gujurati Babo leaves Madras in 1968 and meets Welsh Siân, his dad is furious, tricks him back to India on the pretext of his mother's illness, and hides his passport. Sian follows him to India to bring up their daughters, Mayuri (fiery) and Bean (spacey) and the book does a neat trick of subverting our expectations for an identity-strewn fish-out-of-water tale.
The book flips between England and India, as the family grows and history takes place around them: Bhopal; Charles and Diana; Indira Gandhi assassination – all with the wise words of great-grandmother Ba echoing presciently in the background. Racism is abhorred, comedic and heart-wrenching. Love is played with, toyed with and reassessed. In the end, this bizarre family saga, with all its quirks sustaining it all the way through, is a top read with the playful language and character assassinations that Doshi spins off with ease.
Publisher: Bloomsbury
