Excavaii thr ugh trad ng truth Epic tale of Indian turmoil explores intolerance @ What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin, Alfred A. Knopf, 1999, 517 pages. Lisa Harsison Contributing Writer “TRUTH is a fictional character,” says Shauna Singh Baidwin, the Montreal-born, Milwaukee Wisc. resident who spent most of her childhood in India. Her comment betrays the respecriul dis- tance'she maintains from her Sikh ancestry despite her unflinching “excavation” of India- in the years leading to the partition of . Pakistan in 1947. Her first novel, What the Body Retsembers, “is 2 passionate epic tale set amid social strife,’ the political and religious turmoil, which sim- /mered for generations and ex loded like a ~’ landmine after the Second World War. _ . The'story begins in 1937 with the intro- f Satya, the first wife of a wealthy ~ engineer. Satya (meaning truth) is'a Woman who has come kicking and screaming into ker life‘yet finds herself trapped in a vice of, tradi-. tion and religion.’ ; etent, beautifil woman who runs: ectacated in pete rig io he must ¢xercist his Sikh rights to have an heir... He mairies Roop, a a poor village girl, and brings her home to Satya’s outrage. The first - glimpse of Roop is as a trespasser into 3 once-loving marriage. Baldwin then turns the lens and reveals Roop as a girl from a family without a dowry, whose father’s advice is “Above all, give no trouble.” A girl with a choice that is really not a choice. Satya struggles to maintain her power and dignity as Roop comes to realize that she is valued for her fertile womb. Sardarji oversees the discord with the indifference that power aftords, “We are made into cach orher’s instru- ments of torture. I don’t think that is neces- sarily monocultural,” notes Baldwin. This novel introduces readers to a rich cultural fandscape that shimmers in the heat of the day, the fine dust of oppression settling over the Villages, deteriorating the spindly English furniture that Sardarji cherishes. Although it is typically erroncous to try to discover the author in a book, as if the writ- were a cryptic clue to the author’s true we f, instead of the much more creative (and interesting) work of pure fiction, this is an exce tional case. As a Canadian woman who lived from seven to 26-years-old in India, she --has the experience of Indian cuiture and the ‘Western perspective to reach her audience. ° This is a story she felt uniquely qualified ” ‘to write. Her third-country citizenship also made it possible for her to research Pakistani locations. Unfortunately, she confronted social barriers. “I took my husband with me ‘-so that I could be claimed by a man.” She rolls her eyes slightly. ~ As the co-author of A Fureigner’s Guide to , ‘America she has a sense of humour about ‘cultural customs, Americans, she observed in See Novel Page 38 eF one > Huridred and eventy go but his name is still remembered today. He, ble ‘others, stich as Sitting Bull, symbolize the last § gre defenders of the 4 ans” way. of life In i renowned author Larry McMurtry s Warriors:life and the circumstances that y; the government and the al informati acks'alor into this slim volurie (and leaving morat anid completes istings'of the extensive material he drew upon, ni-feviews Of'a number of the reference books. release in'a riew. series called Penguin Lives, enguin Books will be Publishing. 163? Lonsdale Ave... N. potte’ peat 1730 Marin: Drive. W. Van, 926-7710 — Terry Peters at The: vO rSunetvors, Choose. from 8] grams for stress relief, different treatments: designed to give ; remineralization, slim-- “ you: complete relaxation, while using| ming, cellulite, deep the: most active ingredients t to obtain detoxification, firming & SHAUNA Singh Baldwin’ 6 first novel What the Body lemembers is a cautio tale set amidst the political and cultural strife in post-war, India. oo Holo-Foil Charizard Enter by. Nov. 30/99. your first treatment, plus an extra 5% discount “when you book a course of 3 or more treatments.