In the bustling Quebec of the 1970s, a teenager, Rani, seeks to put down roots, torn between her loyalty to her parents of Indian origin and her desire to belong to her native country, to erase cultural, linguistic and physical differences. which prevent him from blending into the crowd and taking part in the referendum fever which animates the streets and public squares.
To escape the traps that she feels closing in on her, Rani escapes with a passion that borders on obsession into the music of Sensabilité, a Quebec progressive rock group whose singer, Serge Giglio, campaigns body and soul for the ‘independence.
Years later, Rani, now an adult, works as a teaching assistant in a college. There she meets Mélanie, Serge’s adopted daughter; a young woman angry at her parents who uprooted her, in addition to having cut all ties with her native Vietnam. Together, the two friends undertake a quest that will lead them to pursue their origins, in a desire to pick up the pieces of an identity and a history shattered between two continents.
Stories of freedom
A convergence of solitudesthe first novel by Montreal writer Anita Anand – who shares no family ties with the federal MP and the British host and author of the same name – unfolds over five decades, across two generations, at the confluence of great freedom movements, namely the Quebec referendums, the partition of India and the end of the war in Vietnam.
This very ambitious score, however, was born from a very simple anecdote. “One day, I saw a famous musician drinking alone on the terrace of a restaurant,” says Anita Anand. My husband and I started whispering about him. When I got home, I wrote a scene from the point of view of the star, who had to constantly feel like she was being spied on. A little later, I invented a family for him. »
The novelist also wanted to add her parents’ love story to her story. “They met in 1947, following the partition of India and decolonization. They were lost for years before finding each other again. I found their meeting wildly romantic. To tie their love to my other segment, I invented a girl obsessed with the musician. Then, guided by my instinct, I developed it into a historical novel set in three different countries. »
To bring her characters to life, Anita Anand undertook tedious research work. “I have listened to several first-person accounts of the partition of India. I discussed it with my family, especially my mother. » The writer also spoke with Australian journalist Cath Turner, who has written extensively about her personal experience of Ho Chi Minh City, and has investigated Operation Babylift in Vietnam.
“I also read the biography of a musician who experienced and overcame alcoholism. I watched videos of his concerts, I immersed myself in his music. I returned to the neighborhood where I had met him. »
Each writing session was rocked by the compositions – we guess – of Harmonium, inspiring Anita Anand with the idea of constructing her novel in the form of a double album, each focused on a different family and with an A side and a B side which take the reader through time and continents. “It happened very instinctively. This entire book, from the creation process to the content, was bathed in music. Some very short chapters even reminded me of songs. »
It’s all just misunderstandings
As the story unfolds, members of both clans must deal with loneliness in myriad forms, whether identity, generational, geographic, political or psychological. Here, none of the characters are perceived or perceive themselves as they would like to be. Within families, cultural and emotional shocks multiply, as do misunderstandings.
What Anita Anand talks about is above all the multitudes of obstacles to communication that arise between friends, members of the same family, fellow citizens, people. “I don’t know if it’s because my parents and my brothers are mathematicians, but I carry within me the desire to find a solution or an explanation when something bothers me. At the moment there are a lot of misunderstandings. I think anger, and even war, is just the result of misunderstandings. We have a crying need to understand ourselves, to get to know ourselves, to stop dehumanizing those who are different from us or reducing them to a stereotype. »
By raising, in particular, the issues linked to immigration, the author testifies to the countless ways of experiencing exile and uprooting. One of the characters, Sunil, who has schizophrenia, is a perfect example of this. “When people come here, they come with their own problems and their own dramas. Immigrants do not form a monolithic bloc. When we find ourselves behind someone at the grocery store who is taking a long time, we might do well to stop at the fact that we have no idea what this person is going through. We must cultivate empathy. »
The writer also testifies to the signs of our common humanity by anchoring her story in three different movements for freedom, from Quebec to India via Vietnam. “These three revolutions underline the desire that all individuals have to be free, to have roots, to belong to something. I think we are often too focused on ourselves to be interested in what is happening elsewhere and what unites us with others. »
Anita Anand explains that she opted for a historical novel because it is difficult for her to talk about the present moment. “There are people capable of writing through pain, shock and incomprehension. Me, I need distance and perspective. Right now, I am upset by two things: my mother’s illness, who is dying, and the crisis in Gaza. When I’m in the hospital with her, I can’t help but think how lucky we are to be safe. »