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Colombo Chicago
De la douceur des manguiers sucrés aux explosions de couleurs des bougainvillées tropicales, Colombo-Chicago nous transporte au Sri Lanka au cœur d'une fresque contemporaine effervescente et sensuelle. Dans ce pays de traditions et de mariages arrangés, rongé par des années de guerre civile et confronté à la modernisation grandissante de ses coutumes sociales, ce sont les histoires croisées des Kandiah et des Vallipuram, sur deux générations, qui nous sont contées. Liés par des parentés, des alliances et des liaisons amoureuses, de nombreux personnages de cette saga entraînante et bigarrée émigrent pour étudier à Oxford, Harvard ou Chicago ; certaines épouseront des Occidentaux, d'autres des Sri-Lankais immigrés, d'autres encore rentreront à Colombo pour un mariage décidé à l'avance. Roman de l'émigration et du déracinement, de la modernité et de l'émancipation, Colombo-Chicago est une chronique intimiste de l'amour, de l'ambition et de la réussite. On y explore aussi les chemins plus personnels de la sexualité et de la spiritualité. Enfin et surtout, de l'Asie à l'Amérique, Colombo-Chicago est un roman à la gloire des femmes triomphant de destins trop étroits pour elles.
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 10, 2013
Obavezno pročitajte ovu knjigu... sjajna je... Mono i manjana objavili pod naslovom "Tela u pokretu"... Šri Lanka... egzotika...
October 10, 2020
Although it's a series of short stories, it reads very much like a novel, with characters reappearing and different aspects of the same story being slowly uncovered.
The first story takes place in Colombo in 1939, and from here we're following three generations of two Sri Lankan families in both Sri Lanka and the USA, through their studies, arranged marriages, heartaches, secrets, successes and failures. We're witnessing the clash of traditionalist and more progressive attitudes, problems in communication, and changing gender roles.
It's incredibly written, thought-provoking and heartbreaking. I loved every word.
The first story takes place in Colombo in 1939, and from here we're following three generations of two Sri Lankan families in both Sri Lanka and the USA, through their studies, arranged marriages, heartaches, secrets, successes and failures. We're witnessing the clash of traditionalist and more progressive attitudes, problems in communication, and changing gender roles.
It's incredibly written, thought-provoking and heartbreaking. I loved every word.
December 29, 2018
The writing is incredible, truly. But I'm rather escapist and offer the following note: If you are escapist, too, you'll want to save this for a day when you can handle such topics as infidelity (a lot of it), gender roles, pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, child abuse, sexual assault (not much on stage, and the character saves herself, really, by pretending to be a prostitute and turning the attack into a condom'd bj so she goes home safe), and closeted homosexuality. Queer characters take front and center early on in the book, which I love about Mohanraj's stories; they don't die (in the plot, I mean, they aren't immortals), they live life on their own terms, and one of the couples even has a fairly happy-for-now ending to their vignette (and the POV character in that one is Jewish).
Another theme that resonated throughout all the stories (which are interconnected) was the multi-generational triangle of lust, age, and children. The priorities, mistakes, and concerns of the parents are repeated by their children in different permutations. I don't often read books that show multiple generations and their commonalities; not because I don't want to, but rather because popular fiction has tended to focus on young, single, and likely orphan/small family'd characters.
Another theme that resonated throughout all the stories (which are interconnected) was the multi-generational triangle of lust, age, and children. The priorities, mistakes, and concerns of the parents are repeated by their children in different permutations. I don't often read books that show multiple generations and their commonalities; not because I don't want to, but rather because popular fiction has tended to focus on young, single, and likely orphan/small family'd characters.
February 6, 2015
First read of the new year! And it was oh so lovely. Bodies in Motion is a multi-generational novel told through short stories - or perhaps I should call it a collection of short stories woven into a novel. Each chapter focuses on a different member of one of two interconnected Sri Lankan/Sri Lankan American families. Most of the stories deal in love - marital love and forbidden love and familial love; loves that grow over time or that curdle over decades. And balanced alongside love is the tension between the needs and expectations of family and of one's own self. That tension is most acutely experienced by the women, but it touches everyone.
As each chapter unfolds, the perspective of the point of view character sheds more light back on earlier pieces of the greater story. This is definitely a book that will benefit from re-reading - but each story still feels complete unto itself, often featuring a sucker-punch to the emotions.
Absolutely recommended.
As each chapter unfolds, the perspective of the point of view character sheds more light back on earlier pieces of the greater story. This is definitely a book that will benefit from re-reading - but each story still feels complete unto itself, often featuring a sucker-punch to the emotions.
Absolutely recommended.
August 8, 2018
This is not the kind of book I usually read. First, it’s a set of short stories, and I very rarely read short stories. Second, it has a lot of sex in it and I try not to read books with a lot of sex in them. However, it fit a category in a reading challenge I was doing, so there we go.
I like the concept of this book. The stories are about two interconnected families from Sri Lanka. Some are set in America and some in Sri Lanka. They follow three generations and while there are none that focus on the same character throughout, the cast of characters is recurring, so that the little girls who are introduced in on stories as daughters of the main character each have their own stories and then appear again as characters in their children’s stories. The stories were also different in their format and execution. One was journal entries, another was told in the second person and so on.
I appreciate the craft that went into this volume and these stories, even as I’m not a huge fan of the content. These were really well done and I’m thinking of them yet.
I like the concept of this book. The stories are about two interconnected families from Sri Lanka. Some are set in America and some in Sri Lanka. They follow three generations and while there are none that focus on the same character throughout, the cast of characters is recurring, so that the little girls who are introduced in on stories as daughters of the main character each have their own stories and then appear again as characters in their children’s stories. The stories were also different in their format and execution. One was journal entries, another was told in the second person and so on.
I appreciate the craft that went into this volume and these stories, even as I’m not a huge fan of the content. These were really well done and I’m thinking of them yet.
December 6, 2017
3.5, rounding about for the sensuality and beautiful writing. My chief complaint about this one is that there were too many stories - the collection really dragged in the middle and I am a very dogged reader, especially of late, so I made myself power through (and reaped some rewards) but I could have used some a little more up and down instead of just down down down... ahhhh.
That all being said, I really really loved and identified with some of the stories and I loved the back and forth between Ceylon and America.
That all being said, I really really loved and identified with some of the stories and I loved the back and forth between Ceylon and America.
September 6, 2019
“Exotic” tragedy porn for white people. I read this in March and I still feel the need for a palate cleanser.
April 7, 2025
So much to say about this one! I will come back to review it properly once it settles.
May 16, 2018
Well written short stories following a couple of families through several generations. The author flows seamlessly between first and third person, male, female, young, old. A fascinating glimpse into a culture of which I have no part.
But people: COMMUNICATION IS KEY in a marriage, or really any relationship. It seemed like every character was afraid to talk to their spouse, and I admit it can be tricky, especially if your pairing was arranged, but it's really important.
But people: COMMUNICATION IS KEY in a marriage, or really any relationship. It seemed like every character was afraid to talk to their spouse, and I admit it can be tricky, especially if your pairing was arranged, but it's really important.
October 12, 2012
This book is the "first" (for some funny definition of first) book by a friend of mine. Mary Anne Mohanraj was one of the editors in residence at the Strange Horizons workshop I attended in 2004 ago and was really helpful. While she's written and edited erotica and science fiction and fantasy and started two magazines [Clean Sheets (erotica, NWS) and Strange Horizons (slipstream F/SF)], she also enjoys literature. This book is a collection of short stories she wrote during her Ph.D. program and are focused around immigrant studies. Mary Anne is of Sri Lankan descent (aka Ceylon, a small island nation off the coast of India) and her stories here trace two fictional Sri Lankan families from the 1930s in Sri Lanka as they immigrant to America and (some) return to Sri Lanka in the late 1990s. The stories are gorgeous in terms of writing and stunningly evocative. There is an erotica element to most of the stories, or at least the frank depiction of sex. But this isn't the book you bring to bed with a vibrator. These stories will make you laugh, cry, hold your breath, wish for better things and inhale the rich curries. They are stories of life and love and sex and death. They are stories of what makes us human. I enjoyed it muchly. I fully recommend anyone interested in immigrant literature check this book out. 5 spicy curries out of 5.
January 2, 2016
This is a collection of stories all loosely tied together, focusing on multiple generations of two extended Sri Lankan families. Each story chooses a different narrator or key characters, and the choices they face in a changing 20th Century, and the stories are meant to be read in sequence for maximum effect. Along the way the members of the Vallipuram and Kandiah family grow up and older, marry, divorce, sever ties or reconnect with their families, and confront the challenges of civil war, ethnicity, love, homosexuality in a traditional culture, adapting (or not) to life in the United States or a much changed postwar Sri Lanka, and finding one's own way in life, in accordance with (or against) the expectations of family and culture.
Some of the stories are sparse, little more than character sketches at a point in time. Others are more fully developed stories with engaging twists and turns. All of them are written in poetic and engaging prose. The writing along makes the shorter pieces rise above mediocrity, even without much forward motion. The stronger pieces in the collection, including the title story and "Seven Cups of Water," simmer with emotion and erotic energy and are instantly memorable.
Some of the stories are sparse, little more than character sketches at a point in time. Others are more fully developed stories with engaging twists and turns. All of them are written in poetic and engaging prose. The writing along makes the shorter pieces rise above mediocrity, even without much forward motion. The stronger pieces in the collection, including the title story and "Seven Cups of Water," simmer with emotion and erotic energy and are instantly memorable.
March 7, 2014
This is a collection of short stories held together by family ties. The first two pages of the book hold two (connected) family tree diagrams, and each story features characters who appear on those trees. It's a structure that's interesting in that the reader ends up seeing different characters' perspectives on the same sets of events, and some stories answer questions raised by or give context to actions in others. At the same time, the structure makes the gaps that much more obvious--there are characters whose stories I was waiting to hear who never got time in the spotlight. (Kili, Shefali, Kamala, Sushila.) Also perhaps related to the family-tree conceit, the stories have a tendency to hinge on pregnancy and marriage as plot points, which becomes somewhat repetitive after a while. The stories work best for me when they show a skill at taking the emotions in a situation, lifting and separating them and holding them up to look at all their facets. They don't always succeed, but they do often enough to be very pleasing.
December 28, 2013
I've been reading Mary Anne's blog for years now. She's a very interesting woman, born in Sri Lanka and raised in the U.S., whose writing ranges from erotica to sci-fi to literary to cookbook. I have read a bunch of the stories in this book at different times over the years on her blog, and look forward to having them put in order for me (and reading the new ones!) here.
Finished now and I definitely enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for multi-generational sagas so the wide range of stories connecting members of two families over the decades appealed very much. I also enjoyed her ability to write characters who find themselves behaving in mean or small ways without really intending to, but being unable to help themselves. It seemed very real. One of the first stories, told from the father's point of view, was one of my favorites. I felt very mentally in the space of an older paternal figure. Nicely done all around.
Finished now and I definitely enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for multi-generational sagas so the wide range of stories connecting members of two families over the decades appealed very much. I also enjoyed her ability to write characters who find themselves behaving in mean or small ways without really intending to, but being unable to help themselves. It seemed very real. One of the first stories, told from the father's point of view, was one of my favorites. I felt very mentally in the space of an older paternal figure. Nicely done all around.
June 25, 2009
Mohanraj is another one of those authors who moves between genres in interesting ways, in her case between erotica and literature. Her prose is lush and invites the reader to understand every story from multiple angles.
More than anything, this book reminds me of Erdich's Love Medicine, with the way it moves fluidly from viewpoint to viewpoint, tying together a tangle of perspectives in short story form to tell a single narrative. And her family relationships are similarly complex and nuanced.
(This was the second time I've read Bodies In Motion; the first was, I think, in the summer of '05. I really need to get my hands on her later books.)
More than anything, this book reminds me of Erdich's Love Medicine, with the way it moves fluidly from viewpoint to viewpoint, tying together a tangle of perspectives in short story form to tell a single narrative. And her family relationships are similarly complex and nuanced.
(This was the second time I've read Bodies In Motion; the first was, I think, in the summer of '05. I really need to get my hands on her later books.)
March 1, 2014
Beautiful sensuous read. We get small tastes of life of several generations of Tamil families. They are small, but intense tastes: love, passion, heartache and drama revealed in the burning taste of curries. Also, I loved that there were several settings in Hyde Park, one of my favorite places in the world.
There were times when I had to refer to the genealogy chart in the front of the book, because the names and people blurred together and I couldn't tell who was the daughter of who. But I loved the stories, and loved to see who sought saftey in the marrying/baby culture, who broke out, who married outside their race, who did not married at all. My favorite were both of Mangai's stories.
Now I'm hungry for curry.
There were times when I had to refer to the genealogy chart in the front of the book, because the names and people blurred together and I couldn't tell who was the daughter of who. But I loved the stories, and loved to see who sought saftey in the marrying/baby culture, who broke out, who married outside their race, who did not married at all. My favorite were both of Mangai's stories.
Now I'm hungry for curry.
July 16, 2014
These stories are a delicious treat. Following members of intertwining families from Sri Lanka to San Francisco, it is a joy to read about these characters and their journey through often conflicting cultures and traditions. While customs such as arranged marriages seem outdated and alien to us, Mohanraj guides us through the hearts and minds of each character,, taking us inside each individual decision to either follow what has come before or blaze a new trail into new emotional territory. Beautifully written, sensual and full of love and understanding for every twist and turn of the heart and the paths that are followed. This is a joyful, generous, tender-hearted and loving read.
June 24, 2008
An interesting collection of short stories--I read it within 2 days. It's about Sri Lankan culture colliding with Western culture. It's unusual, a departure from typical Indian-American literature. I enjoyed it!
October 4, 2009
i read this book in a day. i could not stop myself. it was beautiful and sad and sexy. seriously sexy. i was not expecting that from this book, but that is what i got and i delighted in it. great, great themes about emigration and racism and religion and sex and on and on.
March 7, 2010
the beginning was very interesting, but after you are little bit confused between all characters et we don't have very a link between every one. I had in obligation to come back at the beginning of the book, where the writer published the tree Family in order to understand who was who.
April 9, 2007
A series of short stories that link together to tell the story of a Sri Lankan family over the course of a few generations. Simply loved it.
March 25, 2008
If you like getting lost in vignettes, this is the book for you!
September 4, 2008
I couldn't put this one down. Maryanne is brilliant!!! I love the various stories-insights into the human mind-the dilema of being an immigrant-love-gender questions-identity-etc. Mind-Blowing!
July 12, 2008
I know her! She taught my Introduction to South Asian Lit class and is pretty awesome.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews