This is one of the last books in the course and its themes are easy to connect to the other books in the course such as: Barnacle Love, The Chinese Knot and Natasha and Other Stories. These have been four my favourite books so far and it is clear why: these books are easy to relate to and are full of wit and humor. As a young person in a minority, I can especially relate to the themes of love, sex, relationships, friendship, family, and culture in Shopping for Sabzi. It has not been a chore to read this book, but a pleasure. I am about halfway and can’t wait to get to the other stories. Each one focuses on a distinctly different character from the story before, but all are interesting, compelling and well developed, despite the short length of the stories. Deckha is one of the only authors able to understand today’s young people and how they speak and translate that onto the pages of his book. Unlike Thea in The Other Sister, the voices and diction of the young characters, such as Marcus in “Cheese Guru Kiss”, are believable.
Some questions I hope to ask Deckha next week:
Do the characters, themes, etc. of the stories come from people you have met in real life?
Is there a clear message you want to convey with your stories about South Asian people and/or culture?
Do you think that "shopping for sabzi" is a detrimental way of looking for a mate or for love?
Below I am also including the discussion I started on the Listserv on this text:
I am currently finishing up Shopping for Sabzi by Nitin Deckha and was wondering if anyone else noticed the similarities between it and other books in the course, such as Natasha and Other Stories, The Chinese Knot, and Barnacle Love. The stories in these books focus on a specific group, whether it be a racial/cultural group or a family, and are separate yet interconnected. I have found these books to be the most enjoyable to read throughout the course because they have often been the most easy to relate to (common themes I've noticed are: relationships, sex, family, love, friends - all issues that interest people of our age group), are contemporary and are written with humor and wit.
I was just wondering if anyone else saw these similarities, agreed/disagreed, could share which of these books they liked the most and why, or if anyone has noticed any other similarities between the books in the course? This last question in particular could perhaps be helpful for all of us in studying for the exam.
