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Nothing Like Love
A sparkling, witty and confident debut from a rising Canadian star whose Trinidadian roots and riotous storytelling heritage inform her completely delightful novel.
It is 1974 in the town of Chance, Trinidad--home to a colourful cast of cane farmers, rum-drinkers, scandal-mongers . . . and a bright 18-year-old schoolgirl named Vimla Narine. After passing her A-levels with extraordinary results and accepting the coveted teaching post at Saraswati Hindu school, Vimla is caught with the village pundit's son, Krishna Govind. At night. Holding hands. By morning, even the village vagrant has heard the news and the Govinds and Narines find themselves at the heart of Chance's most delicious disgrace since a woman chased her cheating husband from the district with a rolling pin.
Very quickly, Vimla's teaching post is rescinded, her mother goes on strike from everything, her father seeks solace in the rum shop and Vimla is confined to her home. While Vimla waits for Krishna to rescue her, Krishna's father exiles his boy to Tobago with a suitcase of Hindu scriptures and a command: Krishna will become a man of God. It is his duty.
Just when Vimla thinks her fate couldn't be worse, her best friend, Minty, brings word that Krishna has become betrothed to the beautiful Chalisa Shankar. And Chalisa wants to meet Vimla. Together, Vimla and Minty devise a scheme to win Krishna back that involves blackmailing a neighbour, conspiring with Chalisa, secret trysts in cane fields--and unearthing surprising truths that could change Vimla's, Krishna's and Chalisa's lives forever.
It is 1974 in the town of Chance, Trinidad--home to a colourful cast of cane farmers, rum-drinkers, scandal-mongers . . . and a bright 18-year-old schoolgirl named Vimla Narine. After passing her A-levels with extraordinary results and accepting the coveted teaching post at Saraswati Hindu school, Vimla is caught with the village pundit's son, Krishna Govind. At night. Holding hands. By morning, even the village vagrant has heard the news and the Govinds and Narines find themselves at the heart of Chance's most delicious disgrace since a woman chased her cheating husband from the district with a rolling pin.
Very quickly, Vimla's teaching post is rescinded, her mother goes on strike from everything, her father seeks solace in the rum shop and Vimla is confined to her home. While Vimla waits for Krishna to rescue her, Krishna's father exiles his boy to Tobago with a suitcase of Hindu scriptures and a command: Krishna will become a man of God. It is his duty.
Just when Vimla thinks her fate couldn't be worse, her best friend, Minty, brings word that Krishna has become betrothed to the beautiful Chalisa Shankar. And Chalisa wants to meet Vimla. Together, Vimla and Minty devise a scheme to win Krishna back that involves blackmailing a neighbour, conspiring with Chalisa, secret trysts in cane fields--and unearthing surprising truths that could change Vimla's, Krishna's and Chalisa's lives forever.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2015
6 people are currently reading
626 people want to read
About the author
Sabrina Ramnanan
1 book6 followersSabrina Ramnanan was born in Toronto to Trinidadian parents. She completed her B.A. in English and B.Ed at the University of Toronto. In addition, Sabrina is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Education Creative Writing Program and the recipient of the 2012 Marina Nemat award. Her work has appeared in Diaspora Dialogues, Cerulean Rain, Writing in the Margins, The Caribbean Writer and Joyland. Nothing Like Love is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 29, 2015
I love attending author readings. Most of the time, however, I don’t really care about the actual reading portion of the event - I can read myself after all. I want to find out about what's not on the page, get to know the author a bit.
When I started reading “Nothing Like Love”, to my surprise, I desperately wanted Sabrina Ramnanan to read to me, wanted her to let the voices of her characters come to life. Her novel centers around a small community in Trinidad during the 1970s. The story is populated with many different villagers including the young couple in love, Vimla and Krishna, but also their families and nosy neighbours who love nothing more than gossiping and meddling with everybody else’s lives. So the story is short on plot but quite heavy on the dialogue.
Unfortunately, the dialogue made it very difficult for me to connect with the book. It seems to be quite authentic as Ms. Ramnanan uses the English dialect spoken in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Baba? Pundit Anand?” Her voice grew small. “Oh shames!. This pundit gone and dead in the mandir!” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “All that sexy-news about Vimla and Krishna must be kill the man.”
I am not used to it and wished I could hear the speech melody in my head. Without a voice in my head – as any dialect works best when spoken aloud - all I see is the weird grammar. Thus, having the author read a passage could make quite a difference. I would also like to ask her more about the Indian culture that’s dominating the story. I am not familiar with many of the terms used (see sample dialogue) and felt rather lost.
I picked up the book because I wanted to learn more about life in one of the Caribbean island nations. The descriptions certainly seem to do that but I think it would work better for someone who has been there before and would love to refresh her memory and deepen her understanding of the culture. It does not work as well for a complete stranger to the country like myself.
When I started reading “Nothing Like Love”, to my surprise, I desperately wanted Sabrina Ramnanan to read to me, wanted her to let the voices of her characters come to life. Her novel centers around a small community in Trinidad during the 1970s. The story is populated with many different villagers including the young couple in love, Vimla and Krishna, but also their families and nosy neighbours who love nothing more than gossiping and meddling with everybody else’s lives. So the story is short on plot but quite heavy on the dialogue.
Unfortunately, the dialogue made it very difficult for me to connect with the book. It seems to be quite authentic as Ms. Ramnanan uses the English dialect spoken in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Baba? Pundit Anand?” Her voice grew small. “Oh shames!. This pundit gone and dead in the mandir!” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “All that sexy-news about Vimla and Krishna must be kill the man.”
I am not used to it and wished I could hear the speech melody in my head. Without a voice in my head – as any dialect works best when spoken aloud - all I see is the weird grammar. Thus, having the author read a passage could make quite a difference. I would also like to ask her more about the Indian culture that’s dominating the story. I am not familiar with many of the terms used (see sample dialogue) and felt rather lost.
I picked up the book because I wanted to learn more about life in one of the Caribbean island nations. The descriptions certainly seem to do that but I think it would work better for someone who has been there before and would love to refresh her memory and deepen her understanding of the culture. It does not work as well for a complete stranger to the country like myself.
March 15, 2020
I liked the story line and learning about the Indian culture. However, the ending was disappointing and had some loose ends.
May 12, 2015
A wonderful debut! Really enjoyed this one and certainly hope there is more from this author in the near future.
May 31, 2017
I really wanted to like this book, and not all of what I read was terrible, but it didn't grab my attention. While the colourful speech enhanced the quirkiness of the characters, it was sometimes hard to interpret and the flow between chapters was jarring. I often felt that I was somehow missing something. There's too little time to read a book I don't care about and a DNF is an automatic 1 star.
November 2, 2020
The book started off a bit slow but it picked up about half way through and I actually loved the ending and that it wasn’t all happily in love. It was also lovely to be transported to Trinidad and Tobago! Brought back some great memories
February 24, 2023
Forgetable. I just read this book last month and I cannot remember what it was about other than it was set in the Carribean.
November 30, 2024
SO GOOD. I found out about this book from my librarian which turned out to be... SABRINA RAMNANAN. Really good book!
April 11, 2015
I just could not put this book down. I was in love with it from the very start. What Ramnanan does is weave many different perspectives into the story and you feel like you are getting a bit of everyone equally, although really, Vimla and Krishna are at the centre of it. The story is written phonetically and I really felt was if I was transported to Chance, Trinidad. The dialogue bits were my favorite because of that, but even if some sections were heavy on the dialogue, Ramnanan somehow is able to build the world so wonderfully. Just the overall structure of the book and how everything unfolds between the Govinds and Narines was so incredibly fascinating. I found myself laughing a lot because of the silliness from some characters and I also found myself getting incredibly frustrated at some characters like Sangita, but that just goes to show just how well written this book is! There is a bit of every character and every character is so well-rounded. This is a wonderful story and the title is just perfect, because there's nothing like love. Love is not perfect, love is complicated and this story depicts not only romantic love, but love in friendships (Vimla & Minty // Krishna & Dutchie), love in family (Vimla and her parents, Krishna and his parents and Krishna and his aunt), love in neighbors (even when they don't deserve it), and also, finding love again (Sangita and Rajesh). This was an incredibly fun, laugh out loud, charming book. I just loved it and I would highly recommend it to those looking for a fun read this summer. This is Ramnanan's debut novel and I am incredibly excited to see what she writes next!
Full review on the blog: http://padfootslibrary.blogspot.ca/20...
Full review on the blog: http://padfootslibrary.blogspot.ca/20...
July 13, 2015
Nothing Like Love really surprised me. The Trinidad and Tobago setting was unique and a pleasant change from the novel's I typically choose. I also really appreciated the religious aspects of the lives of the characters being interwoven into the story which made it feel more realistic. The lives of Vimla and Krishna seem predetermined by their parents but through a series of choices they each make, their lives take very different directions from what their parents anticipate. Vimla at first comes across as independent but through heartbreak she becomes pliable to her parents wishes. Krishna is first introduced as a troublemaker and a free spirit. Krishna's father is the head spiritual leader in their community and strongly desires his son to train to take over for him when he dies. Vimla and Krishna both have to work past their parent's dreams for their lives and discover what paths they want to take whether it be together as a couple or separately. Krishna's self-determination fails him at the most inopportune times and his repeated apologies to Vimla eventually take a toll on their blossoming love affair. It feels like everyone in this novel turns out to be much more complex than they appear to be at the beginning and the story draws you in and keeps you engaged. I would recommend this book as a great read but wouldn't say it felt specifically like a "romance" novel.
April 25, 2016
I could really relate to this story a lot. I am from a tropical island that's a lot similar to Trinidad and I could literally see the country I had grown up in all throughout the story, be it at the story beach, in the cane fields or among the intruding, gossip-loving people who mostly have double-standards and absolutely cannot just go on living their own lives and minding their own business. I loved how real that felt, it was like being transported across the world, back to that small island and living all of it it again. It reminded be of the hot summers in this cold, North American country and I realised that I do miss that place, somewhere inside...
There were some characters that I loved and really. my heart breaks for them. Vimla, her parents, Minty, Chalisa, Krishna... And speaking of Krishna... What actually happened to him?
There were some characters that I loved and really. my heart breaks for them. Vimla, her parents, Minty, Chalisa, Krishna... And speaking of Krishna... What actually happened to him?
September 13, 2015
Ramnanan transports us back to 1970s Trinidad with rich characters. It's the coming of age story about Vimla, a young girl who went from community darling to shunned and disgraced when her secret romance with is discovered. Star-crossed lovers struggle against family expectations and somewhere along the way, Vimla must determine what she really wants. The descriptions are vivid--you can feel the languid heat and the scent of spices and flowers, but for me, the dialect and dialogue were the novel's strengths. I'm partial to well-written dialogue and love it when the author pushes it to new levels which Ramnanan did. It took me back to my high school days in a West Indian neighbourhood, and I felt myself lost in nostalgia. An excellent debut.
April 30, 2015
I normally don't judge a book by the cover, but seeing it online, (it's so pretty!) I couldn't resist clicking to find out more. I won an ARC from Goodreads First Reads and I was so excited when I received it! It took me longer then usual to read since life kept interfering, but when I finally did get the chance to sit down with it, I flew through it quickly. Books that expose different cultures and beliefs are always so intriguing to me. I author did an excellent job of weaving the different characters stories together. I've already passed on my copy to a friend because I knew they would enjoy it as much as I have. Thanks again for the free copy of this book!
March 21, 2016
A hugely entertaining read that was just what I needed to get me through the last dull days of winter. I loved the larger than life characters -- the female characters, in particular, ooze swagger and the dialogue is extremely well done with the colloquial speech making it so fun and believable. Next thing you know Ramnanan will be writing a TV comedy pilot for the CBC -- the Hindu equivalent of Little Mosque on the Prairie. They'll call it Tiny Temple on the Tundra :)
Looking forward to meeting her at GritLIT next month.
Looking forward to meeting her at GritLIT next month.
July 4, 2015
Ramnanan has created a lovely novel that centres on the life of Vimla, a strong-willed young woman living in Chance Trinidad. The reader can feel the heat and turmoil of life on this beautiful island. I have two minor complaints. I find my attention starts to wander with novels that exceed 400 pages. I think the length of the novel accounted for my flagging interest in the use of the local dialect. While I started off entranced with it, my interest faltered as the novel continued.
July 8, 2017
Nothing Like Love is a very fluid read with characters, settings, and culture that you get caught up in. The local vernacular is colourful and engaging and one of the elements I enjoyed most about the novel. I loved the town gossip mill that propelled the story; the way that the rumours became their own entities with so much emotion and bias behind them really felt authentic. It was like a complexly composed piece of music.
July 16, 2018
I enjoyed reading all about the different characters in Sabrina Ramnanan's debut novel "Nothing Like Love." Her use of the local Trinidadian language allows the reader to imagine that they are eavesdropping on the conversations of this fascinating group of people in Vimla's life.
Vimla's discovery with her boyfriend changes everything, but the parents of both parties are involved in the outcome as well. I loved the unexpected ending.
Thank you GoodReads for the book.
Vimla's discovery with her boyfriend changes everything, but the parents of both parties are involved in the outcome as well. I loved the unexpected ending.
Thank you GoodReads for the book.
May 23, 2015
I loved this book. First of all, the cover is absolutely gorgeous. The actual story is very creative and funny. I loved the characters in this book. Her descriptions of Trinidad and Tobago were breathtaking as well as her use of the dialect. I love books that make me feel as if I am actually physically present with the characters. Can't wait to read more from this writer.
April 26, 2015
3.5 Stars
April 24, 2015
I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaway. I enjoyed the book,the characters were likeable.
April 2, 2015
well written, fun book that was hard to put down. Thanks to the author & publisher for the giveaway...was nice to have a sneak peek!
May 31, 2015
Check out my review here http://www.newstalk1010.com/blog/just...
July 9, 2015
A lovely book. Simple, joyous, interesting. I found myself pondering the concepts of love, freedom, individuation when I had finished reading.
July 13, 2015
Full of humour and appreciation for small village myopia and power plays. Enjoyed it very much.
March 31, 2016
2.5 stars. .. a nice read; a bit rambling in parts which didn't seem to have anything to do with the storyline
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews