The Sound of Language: A Novel
by Amulya Malladi
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Book Summary Information
Author: Amulya MalladiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-12-26
ISBN: 0345483162
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Sound of Language: A Novel
Book Review: Malladi's best novel yet
Summary: 5 Stars
THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE by Amulya Malladi
Rating ***** (5 Stars)
February 23, 2008
THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE is by Amulya Malladi, a writer who has come a long way since her debut novel A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. This reviewer has been privileged to watch this writer grow, and with each new book she writes she gets better and better. THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE is a departure for Malladi, because this is the first book in which the central characters are not of Indian descent, and the main body of the story takes place in Denmark, not India or America.
Raihana is a woman escaping the horrors of Afghanistan and settles in a foreign country with relatives. Denmark is as far away and as different as one can get from Afghanistan and her initial experiences in this new country are not happy ones. She cannot speak the language, finds learning the language quite difficult, and misses her husband Aamir, who was taken prisoner by the Taliban and is presumed dead.
As she learns to speak the language, Raihana equates the Danish speech akin to the sound of bees. Coincidentally enough, she is placed into a program where she is asked to work for an elderly man, Gunnar, who is a keeper of bees. Through him, she will improve her Danish and find a means to earn a living at the same time. She cannot forever live with her cousins Kabir and Layla, although they have been very kind by inviting her to live with them in Denmark. But, eventually Raihana will have to move on and make a life for herself.
Raihana's Danish is actually very good relative to her time spent in the country, but with her work with Gunnar and his bees, she begins to feel comfortable speaking the language, and becomes somewhat comfortable with the culture. Gunnar's own story is that he has lost interest in life since his beloved wife had passed away. A good friend of his recognizes that maybe if he got involved in something important, it may bring him back to life. Raihana's past experience with bees is what brings the two unlikely people together, but what is extraordinary is the friendship that develops between them, despite the prejudice that goes on around them, and the language barrier that they eventually break down.
This is Amulya Malladi's best novel to date. She obviously did immense research on the industry of honey and bees, and she was able to make the culture and the people come alive. The reader will feel a connection and empathize with the immigrant Raihana. She is alone in the world, living far away from her native Afghanistan, a young widow with no means of making a living. Through the kindness of her distant cousins, she is able to make a new life for herself. Her future is very vague, and without the skill of speaking the native language, Raihana knows her future is doomed.
This reviewer loved the pairing of Gunnar and Raihana. The two very unlikely friends will strike a chord in the reader's heart. It is a friendship that is highly unlikely in this world of Danes and Afghanistan immigrants, as there is a lot of racial tension between the two groups. Both Raihana and Gunnar know the danger of befriending the other, yet their conscience tells them that there is nothing wrong with it. Gunnar sees new life when he begins to trust Raihana and opens up his house to her. And Raihana becomes confident with her beginner's Danish, as she soon becomes comfortable with the language and impresses those around her with her ability to learn it quickly.
Having always had a fear of bees, this reviewer is now ready to learn more about making honey. Malladi gave an in-depth look into this fascinating industry, and did so with meticulous detail. The reader will be intrigued not just by the relationship between Raihana and Gunnar, but by the work they do every day. Malladi paints the process as a thing of beauty, and the characters' love of bees can be contagious. Other various themes in the book include the prejudice encountered by the Afghans after 9/11, as well as the fear and uncertainty any immigrant feels coming to live in a foreign country where they cannot speak the native language. The reader will see Raihana grow as a person, and while she never loses her yearning to return to the country she fled, she embraces a new culture that reluctantly welcomes her and her people with open arms. THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE gets 5 hearts. - Courtesy of Love Romances and More - M. Lofton
Summary of The Sound of Language: A Novel
In this luminous story of bravery, tradition, and the power of language, an Afghan woman and Danish widower form an unexpected alliance.Escaping the turmoil and heartbreak of war-torn Kabul, Raihana settles with distant relatives in the strange, cold, damp country of Denmark. Homesick and heartbroken, Raihana bravely attempts to start a new life, trying hard not to ponder the fate of her husband, who was taken prisoner by the Taliban and never heard from again.
Soon after arriving, Raihana finds herself in a language school, struggling to learn Danish, which she thinks sounds like the buzzing of bees. To improve her speaking skills, Raihana apprentices herself to Gunnar, a recent widower who is steadily withdrawing from the world around him, even neglecting the bee colonies he worked so hard to cultivate with his late wife. Over the course of the bee season, Raihana and Gunnar forge an unlikely relationship, despite the disapproval of their friends and relatives. But when the violence Raihana thought she had left behind in Afghanistan rears its head, she and Gunnar are forced to confront the ghosts of the past as they navigate the uncertain future.
Praise for Song of the Cuckoo Bird
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?Jacquelyn Mitchard.
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?The Boston Globe
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