“Chrysalide”: to those who have never been represented

Established in Hamilton, Ontario, Anuja Varghese has collected many honors for her first new collection, Chrysaliswhose prices of the Governor General and Dayne Ogilvie, as well as a appointment at the Carol Shields price. Similarly, And for good reason: the author has a singular voice, resolutely current.

To a story too long told from a point of view that was not his. Furthermore, Anuja Varghese opposes a counter-recit which invents new narratives: “This book is dedicated to all girls and all women who do not recognize in the majority of stories. In addition, You are worthy of being represented, despite what you have been told, ”you can read in the epigraph. Nevertheless, The form of the collection of news is also admirably lends to this plurality of voices and perspectives.

The stories gathered in Chrysalis are deeply queers, feminists, anti -racists. Furthermore, “chrysalide”: those who have never They explore clandestine loves condemned in India, professional struggles marked by unequal power relations, or even haunted characters. Furthermore, Certain news sometimes sins with a demonstrative tone, “lesson giver”, a little didactic, but others have a remarkable poetic density.

Evocative details – "chrysalide": those who have never

Anuja Varghese describes a world where those who are rarely seen again are reflected: the minorities. the excluded, the left-in-law, those who secretly love or undergo ordinary racism daily. She excels in grasping scenes that suggest more than they say. who say without saying, as in the news entitled In the fist tonguewhere a simple working meeting reveals the dynamics of power and racism:

” – There is coffee,” said Carol, waving his hand to a table at the bottom of the room, where [gisait] A Tim Hortons coffee cardboard […].

– It’s okay for me, replied Farrah, raising his Starbucks cup. I have my chai latte right here.

“Too sweet for “chrysalide”: those who have never me,” said Carol, folding his nose. But it must be pleasant for you, this little reminder of the flavors of your country.

Farrah let go of an evasive laugh, the one that all non -white women learn to master. »»

A hint of supernatural often comes to cross everyday life and transfigure it. In Bhupatifor example. a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi is hit several times by lightning, a strange and beautifully constructed story that sets the tone for the collection. In The Vetala’s Songa supernatural creature remembers his disappeared lover. and the story, imbued with pain and spirituality, becomes an overwhelming song of love.

Elsewhere. the characters take control of their literary destiny: “Where are the stories that talk about me, those who tell the whole truth?” If I had been the protagonist of Alice Munro. I would have moved to the countryside, where I would have spent my days in “chrysalide”: those who have never a stoic and silent sorrow until I die alone. […] If tomorrow I woke up in a Bollywood film. I would sing a sad and beautiful song, I would not fuck with anyone, then I would inflict myself death, nobly, tragically, and (obviously) always so alone. These moments of self-reflexivity. where the narration turns on itself and questions the modes of artistic representation, are among the tastiest in the book.

If the language is not spectacular and the form remains relatively agreed, it is gladly forgiven. Because Anuja Varghese invents a new mythology. where the memory of the minorized voices unfolds in an imagination still too little abundant.

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