You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

Three generations of Indian and Indian American women laugh, cry, break up and make up in this past-to-present story of mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins. Tara and Sonia Das begin life as dutiful Indian daughters, but soon veer off onto nontraditional paths after arriving in New York with their parents in 1973. Beautiful, insular Tara wants to pursue an acting career, while her younger sister Sonia becomes a feminist firebrand. When a personal tragedy transforms their lives forever, both girls find themselves at odds with their conventional mother, Ranee, who is confused and even offended by some of their life choices. Fast forward to the near present. When Tara’s daughter Anna joins forces with Sonia’s daughter Chantal at their exclusive Manhattan private school to create a safe space for modest girls, their mothers’ and grandmothers’ DNA shines through, proving that one can be a strong Indian woman AND a proud American at the same time. There’s also loads of romance, travel, cultural misunderstandings and identity epiphanies that any reader will be able to relate to. Mitali Perkins‘ emotionally resonant work could not be more relevant as our divided nation argues endlessly about tangled policies that will decide the uncertain future of our innovators, poets and Dreamers. Read it, and feel the distance close.