Mountains to Manhattan by Pinakie Kansabanik Published by Omji Publishing House on June 2017
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 350
Format: eBook
Goodreads
The stories that explore harsh realities always fascinate me. Mountains to Manhattan is a book about Tibetan immigrants to India after the invasion of Red Army. What more fascinated me about this book is that the author has narrated the whole story by opting the opposite gender.
The plot revolves around a young, and smart Tenzin Lhamo who was labeled as a refugee before she was born. After the invasion of Red Army her mother, aunt and grandmother had to leave Tibet and settled in India. But did the Indian government did not grant them citizenships and there was a fake hope in their hearts that one day they will be able to go back. With restrictions and no passport, Lhamo undergoes a journey across the world in search of a country that will grant her citizenship. In search of this identity, she fears she might lose her family.
The storyline reflects a good amount of realities that is inflicted upon people who are tagged as refugees irrespective of which country they reside in. The detailing the author provides to support its characters from the start is good and did spike an interest in me as a reader to continue to read this book. It indeed requires a healthy amount of imagination and time to follow up with the research to convey it to a reader in form of a tale such as this challenging topic.
The writing style is good, sometimes energetic and sometimes a bit literary, both help in the amusement for a reader like me. Though I did find some dragging elements in the story. Another point I’d like to make is that the unethical way of Lhamo reaching her goal is a bit disappointing for me. I did not expect this and I think she got too lucky there.
Apart from that, I think this a good book if you are looking for a blend of fiction with some realism induced in it.
3 out of 5
This sounds so good.