YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR, by Mitali Perkins, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), Sept. 12, 2017, Hardcover, $17.99 (young adult)
Much like Sandhya Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi I have fallen in love with Mitali Perkins’ You Bring the Distant Near.
You Bring the Distant Near tells the stories of five girls/women over the span of three generations. Ranee, the oldest, is worried that her children are losing their Indian culture. Sonia is Ranee’s daughter who falls in love with an African-American friend. Tara is Sonia’s sister who is always acting, even though she’s never been on stage. Shanti is struggling to bring balance to a family divided by two cultures. And Anna, Shanti’s cousin, can’t understand why her family wants her to give up her Bengali identity.
There’s something about reading a book so well written that you feel at home with the characters and setting, even when in your real life, you have no reference point. That’s what happens with You Bring the Distant Near.
Author Mitali Perkins has the ability to bring readers of all backgrounds together. She builds her characters and their stories through context in such a seamless manner that you don’t realize you’ve been swept into her world.
I did not want to put down You Bring the Distant Near. I read my digital copy wherever I could sneak in a minute or two. There’s nothing over the top in this book. There are no battles or explosions. There are, however, simple moments as well as complex. It’s a story of sisterhood, friendship and family that you’ll want to read more than once.
