February 1, 2024
Won in a heated auction, Thanki's debut spans Partition-era India to modern-day Brooklyn as it follows generations of women who inherit a mysterious tapestry that allows them to experience the memories of those who came before. As Ayukta considers having a child with her wife, she must share the secret and consider if she should pass on her complicated inheritance. Prepub Alert.
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Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2024
A mysterious tapestry brings the past to life for generations of women in one Hindu family. The tapestry's current guardian is Ayukta, a sculptor in Brooklyn. Although her ancestral memories go back further, she begins her story about 80 years ago with her grandmother Amla's recollections of a happy childhood in Karachi, where Hindus and Muslims lived harmoniously together. But in 1947, when Amla was 10, Partition arrived. Amla's mother died by political violence; Amla and her father escaped to Hindu Gujarat. Amla had the tapestry but, as a motherless girl, had to teach herself how to use it. She learned to experience her maternal ancestors' lives. But her other new power--drawing events before they happened--was harder to understand, and one drawing caused her terrible grief. Years later, she gave the tapestry to her cautious, obedient older daughter, assuming Vibha would avoid her mistake. But after Vibha ensured the happy future of her book-smart, bold younger sister Arni in a drawing, Vibha made a fatal error. Mourning Vibha's death, Amla feared Arni was too impulsive to trust with the tapestry, but Arni proved herself worthy, if more independent. She moved to America and became Ayukta's mother. The intricacies of motherhood and daughterhood are thoroughly examined here. Ayukta has revealed the tapestry's existence to her wife, Nadya, to explain her ambivalence about motherhood, and their conversations concerning the tapestry's potential impact on any child they might raise together frequently interrupt Ayukta's storytelling. Love between queer women takes shape as another theme through Ayukta and Nadya's relationship, and also as Ayukta begins to realize the abiding love Amla shared with her rediscovered childhood friend Fiza--a "love [that] collapses time," Ayukta says a bit oversentimentally. There is nothing sentimental, though, in Thanki's views on the unintended consequences of Partition and the rise of nationalism. Glorious prose creates a grand, sometimes over-the-top sweep of facts, fantasy, and intriguing characters.
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Starred review from July 1, 2024
DEBUT Thanki pens a lightly historical, mystical, and multigenerational tale initiated during the Partition between Pakistan and India in 1947 and concluding in modern-day New York. It primarily centers around the life of Amla. Readers learn first of her carefree childhood in Karachi, which lasted until her family was forced to relocate to Gujarat by the impending political conflict brought by Partition. Amla's tales of hardship reveal details of her arranged marriage at age 17 to a misogynistic Gujarati man, but much of the novel focuses on the relationships between women, including the bonds between Amla and her aunt Meenafa and between the adult Amla and her own daughters. Utilizing art as a theme, Thanki successfully builds an engrossing and often-heartbreaking tale that is further bound together by the magical properties of an heirloom tapestry that the women in Amla's family inherit. Her richly drawn-out work also touches upon themes including gender equality, caste, family, friendship, and love. VERDICT Readers who enjoy the work of Nadia Hashimi and E.M Tran are likely to embrace this deeply engaging and satisfying tale. Thanki is a new voice to definitely keep an eye on.--Shirley Quan
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from August 12, 2024
Thanki debuts with a gorgeous fantastical tale of family history and political strife, spanning from the 1947 Partition of India to the present. It’s told by Ayukta, a Brooklyn artist, to her partner, Nadya, by way of explaining why she’s hesitant to have children. Ayukta’s family has an ancient magical tapestry, and when a new family member is sewn into it, the person receives the ability to shape the future. As Ayukta gradually reveals over the course of the novel, the special powers conferred by the tapestry can be a curse. She begins the story with her grandmother, Amla, growing up in Karachi when the Partition throws daily life into disarray. Amla’s mother, Chandini, sews Amla’s image into the tapestry, but she is unable to explain the gift to Amla before dying in a sectarian riot. When Amla’s friend is raped, Amla inadvertently kills the rapist by depicting his death in a painting, and suspicion falls on her father after police find the painting in their house. Later, Amla passes the gift on to her more cautious daughter, Vibha, rather than to Ayukta’s mother, Arni, drawing Arni’s outrage. Thanki threads her saga with rich themes, including mother-daughter tensions, the burden of inheritance, and the power of art. Readers won’t want this to end. Agent: Stephanie Delman and Danya Kukafka, Trellis Literary.