I am disrupting my fortnightly silence as I have just had a life-changing experience by finishing Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell. My soul will not rest until I've expressed all of my feeling and thoughts about this novel. I just hope I do it justice.
I picked up the novel after discovering it on the 2022 International Booker Prize shortlist (spoiler alert: it won). I'm honestly embarrassed that this is the first book I've read written by an Indian author and translated from Hindi. But it's never too late for anything.
It is impossible to explain in a few sentences what this 800-paged novel is about. But, to sum it up, it is a story about an 80-year-old woman (Amma) who falls into depression after the death of her husband. Her family try to ease her out of it, but she only has one wish: to travel across the border to Pakistan. So to fulfil her elderly mother's desires, her daughter, Beti, accompanies her to India's neighbouring country.
Overall, the story is a slow burn, and it takes a while for the plot to pick up. I wouldn't say that the first few sections of the book even had a solid plot, but we are introduced to essential characters and figures within the novel. Tomb of Sand requires and deserves patience and perseverance. It takes around 600 pages for all the pieces to come together, but it's worth the wait.
Until we reach the "aha!" moment, Shree takes us on a journey through different narrators, where she shows off her linguistic freedom and playful writing style. Absorbing her writing was just an incredible experience, especially when we are shown the world and the family's antics through the eyes of a crow.
Shree teaches us a house itself is as essential as the family members. The doors, windows, and walls see as much as our human (or crow) eyes. One passage in the book particular stands out:
"Of course, every door has its importance. It has its own personality, even in a ruin. Nowadays people only notice a door's imposing outer style, and use that to assess the financial worth of its owners. But a door can hint to so much more: The charm, caprice, awkwardness, romance, aversion, joy, uninhibited weeping, swaying, excitement, prickling sensation of the person crossing the threshold" (237 – 238).
My own family are currently renovating the house, and after reading this passage, it broke my heart to see the kitchen doors removed and dumped in a skip.
Anyways.
I enjoyed the different themes the book dives into, especially conflict. The novel explores conflict within oneself, between countries, governments, families, castes, and even birds— it's a "you versus them" kind of thing. Shree highlights the ridiculous sense of binary between everything. For example, Bahu, is a stereotypical traditional Indian daughter-in-law who sacrifices for her in-laws but never feels appreciated. On the other hand, Beti enjoys her freedom outside this stereotype but is looked down upon by her traditional brother and sister-in-law.
Amma, who originally lived with her son, Bade, transcends this tradition and lives under the care of Beti. In South Asian families, it is expected for a son to live in the family home, with the job of looking after his parents into old age. However, It is frowned upon for a daughter to do so.
Through the 'unlikely' and wholesome friendship between Amma and Rosie, the hijra, Shree goes even further to break boundaries. Rosie refers to Amma as "baji", meaning sister. It was clear that Beti, the 'modern' member of the family, did not appreciate their relationship and felt uncomfortable in Rosie's presence.
I love matriarch characters, and Amma is one of the best. Not only does she transcend the border between Pakistan and India, but old age too. She receives many comments, especially from her daughter, about what she should and shouldn't do at 80. There is an apparent change within her personality, from when we meet her at the start, bedridden and only uttering "no", to arriving in Pakistan and performing monologues.
There's so much more to say about this novel. I will re-read it, and I know I will find foreshadowing moments. Geetanjali Shree is a fantastic storyteller, and I'm so grateful to Daisy Rockwell for allowing me access to this beautifully written and translated work.