Customer Reviews

Atlas of Unknowns

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Tania James is a skilled and gifted story teller whose debut novel is a tour de force. A second generation Indian American with impeccable credentials from Harvard & Columbia Universities, she has produced a literary gem in the form of "Atlas of Unknowns." The novel is set in both Kerala in south India (her parent's native place) and the United States and the main characters are two sisters- Anju & Linno who live with their father-Melvin and their strong-willed grandmother, lovingly called "Ammachi". Their mother had committed suicide. Anju manages to get a scholarship to come to the fabulous land called the United States of America. Regrettably,unbeknownst to the American sponsor, the invitation to enroll in a high school in New York was granted under false pretense of Anju claiming Linno's artistic creations as her own. Linno is a hand amputee due to a firecracker freakish accident but still produces beautiful drawings and sketches. Anju goes through the usual travails of a new immigrant and does splendidly well academically. The truth finally comes out when she is unable to produce any original artistc creations of her own despite her feigning some illness. Thoroughly ashamed and mortified, she quickly absconds from school, leaving her fabulously wealthy and americanized host family of Indian extraction and losing contact with her family in India. Linno, in the meanwhile, has found a job as a brilliant artist and becomes a graphic and technical designer of Hallmark-variety cards and invitations. She tries to procure visa to come to the United States to search for her lost sister. Rohit, the quirky son of the Indian host family eventually catches up with Anju in the predominantly Indian enclave of Jackson Heights in New York where through the generosity of her boarder by the name of Bird, she has now ensconced herself as a bikini waxer. Rohit is a Princeton dropout and is a self-described documentarian who wishes to document the paiful and lengthy trials and tribulations of Anju, the new immigrant, on her path to get permant resident status, thereby paving the way for his own artistic and jounalistic fame.
Tania James weaves a sinuous yet compelling and engrossing story by introducing a cadre of interesting characters in India and America. With superb prose, she narrates a beautiful story that takes many unusual turns and twists and keeps the reader firmly engaged. The book is a page turner and the evocative tale of this lower middle class Indian family that straddles the two continents is gripping. I can hardly wait for her planned book of stories set in Louisville, Kentucky where she was raised.

This is a novel set in Kerala, India -- and in Queens, New York -- about a family torn apart by betrayal and separated both geographically and by life's choices. It was a natural choice for me: lately, I've been entranced by literature written by Indian-Americans and Pakistani-Americans. The lushness of the writing and the soaring of imagination has resonated with me. And I also took note of the many laudatory reviews.

As a result, I wanted to love this book while in the end, I merely liked it. That puts me at odds with the literary community but that's the thing about reading: it's very individual.

A reprise of the plot: After their mother's mysterious death, two sisters -- Linno and Anju --are raised by their loving father. The two quickly set off on different tracks, largely as a result of Anju's betrayal. Disfigured Linno stays behind, using her artistic gifts to forge a career and a name for herself, rejecting marriage and compromises. Anju wins a scholarship to a very elite American school, which she enters based on a lie that is uncovered. She then takes up residence with a woman who shows more than a passing interest in her and who may hold the key to the past.

The novel is largely about the never-ending quest for identity: who are we? Where do we belong? How do we reconcile the yearning for home with the drive for adventure? What role does family play in our lives when we reinvent ourselves? All are worthy questions.

For me, much of the novel was told, not felt. There is a certain something -- perhaps the "soul" of the novel -- that just seems to be missing. Some of the plot twists (don't want to deliver spoilers) seem a little too pat, a little too well-plotted. One of the key characters -- the ambitious son of Anju's host family in America -- is annoyingly one-dimensional. Tania James can definitely write, and I predict good things for her in the future. But I cannot embrace this novel as fervently as other reviewers.

In Kerala, India, their father Melvin with help form his mother raises his two daughters Anju and Linno Vallara when his wife and their mother committed suicide. Crippled Linno turns to painting and proves to be a talented artist. However, Anju steals the work as hers and obtains an art scholarship in New York while the real painter remains behind expecting to be a servant to her father for life.

However, Anju's deception collapses when she shows not one iota of talent. Disgraced, she flees with her only friend being Bird, who is connected in an enigmatic way to her late mom. While Anju hides from her family, Linno becomes an artist of renown. She has forgiven her sibling and wants her to come home.

This is an interesting family drama that vividly compares life in India with immigrants in New York. The sisters are fascinating as opposites in personalities yet in spite of deception and betrayal; there remains a flicker of sibling loyalty. Tania James provides a deep look at two sisters whose conflicting dreams has divided and united them in the past, but where will it take them if Linno pulls off the reunion has the sibs and readers wondering.

Harriet Klausner

After the death of their mother Gracie, Linno and Anju are raised in Kerala by their father, Melvin, and their grandmother Ammachi. Anju wins a scholarship to a prestigious school in America, and lies, thus betraying her sister to accept it. Anju's lie is uncovered a few months into her scholarship, and her life changes. Fleeing from her host family, Anju works in a beauty salon and tries to obtain a green card. Linno, seeking to travel to America to find her sister, earns money by creating handmade invitations.

The stories of Linno and Anju are not the only stories in this novel which provides both strength and weakness. The mystery of Gracie's death, the differences between life in Kerala and New York City, and the role of Bird who becomes Anju's protector in New York City add layers to the story. The strength is that this provides a depth and complexity to the story, the weakness is that the stories of the sisters become overshadowed at times by the events of the past. While this detail enriches the story and provides cultural context and colour, I am ambivalent about the way it shapes the journey. I enjoyed the novel: the stories of Linno and Anju caught and kept my attention. But at the end of the novel I wondered about all of the other characters who had been involved.

This is an impressive debut novel and I'll be looking out for other novels by Ms James.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Atlas of Unknowns is a superb novel by Tania James. Her first novel, it has already been heralded by others, and with good reason. The story focuses on two school-age sisters from India and their family; the inter-personal family dynamics are richly crafted, and the each of the primary characters are fully drawn.

When one of the sisters moves to New York for a year of high school, we have the opportunity to view American culture through the eyes of one naive to some "commonplace" experiences; I'll never look at "quotation marks" the same again. The flow of the story is seamless, internally consistent, but never obvious; there are some nice surprises as the story move along.

In sum, this is a wonderful novel that rewards the reader; I was saddened when I finished. I'll read up to 3-4 books weekly, and this is one of the novels that I have read in the last year. READ THIS BOOK!

My other two reviews on Amazon are largely negative. I picked up this book at the library as well. And that is where the similarity ends. Excellent book with memorable characters. The narration is so good you can picture every thing the author writes about, whether it is a beach in Kerala or an Indian "beauty parlor" in the US. As you read the book, you peel layers off until you piece together a linear narrative. As someone mentioned here, there are some loose ends. But the author's refusal to tie them up probably makes the book more intriguing and thought-provoking. I don't think a sequel is a possibility but that doesn't stop me from fervently hoping there is one.

Book Review: Atlas of Unknowns, by Tania James

This is a debut book by Tania James, an Indian-American born and raised in Kentucky.

The book is set in the southern Indian state of Kerala, and follows the story of two sisters, Linno and Anju Vallara, and the cast of characters surrounding them. Linno has an childhood accident, and loses a hand - prompting her to become withdrawn in school, and ultimately dropping out. However, she is a brilliant artist, and eventually becomes an expert in creating invitations for rich clients abroad.

Anju, on the other hand, is very ambitious and determined - so much so that when she gets a chance to win a scholarship to New York City, she uses deception to win it. Her life in New York - first as a guest of the uber-rich socialite Sonia Solanki in Manhattan, and then as a refugee in Jackson Heights in Queens - is transformational, converting her from a shy, introverted student in a tony school, to a world-weary worker in an Indian salon, ordering McDonald's in shorthand like a native.

On the periphery of their lives, we learn about their parents, Melvin and Gracie - their frustrations to being married in a loveless marriage, the introduction of Bird in their lives, and mysterious circumstances leading to Gracie's apparent suicide.

The storyline is just a small part of what holds the reader's attention, as it unfolds in two continents thousands of miles apart. The attention to detail, especially of small-town Kerala, and the simple description of the beauty, is riveting: "They bump along between paddy fields that, in stillness, reflect the sky's blue with such clarity that grass seems to spring from liquid sky. At the water's edge, a medley of palms bends low, each falling in love with its likeness, while webs of light spangle the dark undersides of the leaves..."

James uses the technique of "flashback" or bringing in the past in snippets of memory in the middle of the story, which keeps the reader wanting more. The theme of love is the undercurrent in the novel - be it the bonds between the sisters, infatuation of Bird towards Gracie, or the lack of love between Melvin and Gracie. The second half of the book focuses on what the sisters do to re-connect - with their little victories, and crushing defeats - which keeps the reader cheering for the underdog.

If one could compare this debut novel to Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer-winner debut "Interpreter of Maladies", there would be similarities in the treatment of characters, getting the reader involved with the character intimately, and the low-key endings - but the biggest difference would the prose. James throws in pithy sentences so nonchalantly that one has to re-read the section to fully appreciate the meaning: "When the man turns, Linno glimpses his face, sallow and sedate, like a zoo animal tired of shrieking against the bars of his cage..."

The other interesting note is that each of the characters has unfulfilled dreams and desires - from the main cast to the rich Mrs. Solanki, to Ghafoor, the salon owner - but the reader is given an open license to peruse these in the dark alleys of their mind. A very appropriate sonnet from the book sums it up:

But it's when I sleep that time goes still
With the moon as witness at the windowsill.
So whatever I have kissed in dreams
I'll keep at least in part.


- Raj Bhandari, Jan 19, 2009
Atlas of Unknowns

An absolutely lovely book from an amazing writer. Here's what the SF Chronicle had to say:

Once in a while, a novel comes along that makes you wonder why people don't read more fiction - why, given the right book, anyone would choose to do anything else. "Atlas of Unknowns," the dazzling, original and deeply absorbing debut by Tania James, is this rare book.

"Atlas of Unknowns" opens in Kerala, India, and follows the Vallara sisters, Anju and Linno, one of whom leaves for New York while the other remains at home with her father and grandmother. Readers who gravitate toward South Asian fiction - which has become almost its own genre in recent years, with arranged marriages and extremes of wealth and poverty to satisfy Jane Austen fans - may be surprised by this Indian family. The Vallaras are comfortably, unexotically, middle class. They are not Hindu but Catholic. They drink Tang out of Pepsi glasses. They are also wonderfully self-aware and conscious of how many outsiders misconstrue India - prejudices that sparked controversy recently, after the release of "Slumdog Millionaire," which some critics held to be a Westerner's fantasy.

James obviously had fun playing with this fantasy when she created the character of Miss Schimpf, an American art teacher who comes to Kerala to award one worthy Indian student a coveted scholarship to her prep school in New York. After Anju is picked as a finalist, Miss Schimpf arrives at the Vallara home in an "out-of-fashion salwar" and "presses her hands together in Namaste ... bowing low like a geisha girl." In a comic moment of cultural misunderstanding, Anju bows even lower. Linno, hoping to improve her sister's chances of being deemed worthy of charity, serves their guest out of an old cup.

But despite their efforts to ingratiate themselves with the contest judge, the interview does not go well. After raving about the other candidates, Miss Schimpf presses Anju to articulate what makes her unique. Unable to think of anything, Anju impulsively lies and takes credit for Linno's artwork, earning the scholarship but creating a deep rift with her sister that launches the novel's conflict.

At heart, this is a book about two sisters who are both struggling to figure out what makes them unique - a struggle the reader will not share. Linno and Anju are distinct and memorable. In the hands of a less imaginative writer, the girl sent to an American private school would flourish; the one left behind would languish. But James manages to knock down her readers' expectations while remaining true to her characters, who refuse to perform to anyone's expectations but their own.

In India, Linno - who lost one hand as a child, when a firecracker exploded - turns down an arranged marriage to a rich blind man, pursuing a business venture with his sister instead. In New York, Anju gets placed in the home of a wealthy Indian American couple (the mother is a commentator on a TV show similar to "The View"), but when she gets caught for having won the scholarship under false pretenses, she runs away and finds a job as a bikini waxer. The plot twists are surprising but plausible, making the book almost impossible to put down.

One of the novel's most vibrant side characters is the son of the Indian couple with whom Anju gets placed. A Princeton dropout, he wants to make a documentary but has not yet found his subject, and so he films everything, all the time. In the second half of the book, the would-be documentarian tracks down Anju in Queens, intending to profile her for a story about illegal immigrants. She agrees, until she sees his footage of his parents. "They had been edited into neater, simpler paper-doll versions of parents, dressed in outfits of frustration by the son who wielded the narrative scissors."

Luckily for us, James does just the opposite, giving her characters full room to express themselves and explore the freedom of their destinies. "Atlas of Unknowns" is one of the most exciting debut novels since Zadie Smith's "White Teeth." Both books share a 19th century largesse, sprawling into different points of view while remaining tightly plotted, with characters recognizable from real life but new to the printed page. Tania James is a fresh voice to keep listening to, who will surely deliver again on the enormous promise of this first novel.

I picked up this book on a whim after reading an online review in the San Francisco Chronicle. The word that comes to mind when describing this debut novel by author Tania James is "scintillating." A review simply would not do this book justice. The rich, interesting characters and tightly woven plot consumed many hours of enjoyment this past week, and I don't even typically read books of this genre. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy, you won't be disappointed.

I always find it hard to write a review about a book I really enjoyed, worried that my words can never do it justice. This book is one of those. From the very first page I knew I was going to thoroughly enjoy the story. It's as if, the two main characters, Linno the artist and her younger ambitious sister Anju become your own sisters. They take you on a journey with them from childhood to adolesence to the point when they are beginning to become adults. You watch them make decisions that effect the sequence of events that makes up their life. You ponder with them about the "what-if's" and the paths not taken, and you hope that somehow in the end the decisions that they did make will all turn out well. The secrets, the lies, the hopes, the unspoken truths. None are really addressed aloud, no one speaks of these things in plain simple terms and outright words, but they exist and they drive the story and they are the reasons the characters are they way they are, and you know this without them having to say it out loud. There are events that make Linno who she is, but she never addresses them, she chooses to not look at them, pretends they don't exist, hoping it will fade away, while she does her best to hide in the background. There is a weight on Anju's shoulder's that her family and her neighbors have dropped there but she never complains of its heaviness, she carries it with her every day, with every choice she makes. This is who they are, yet it is not all they are. Linno and Anju manage to break free from their characterizations interestingly enough by using the instincts and skills acquired from these characterizations. They become more than just an excellent artist missing a hand or an ambitious smart girl with a tendency to lie. They learn from their mistakes and they confront the unspoken truths, they deal with the lies, they realize which hopes are theirs and which hopes are other peoples. Some secrets are revealed, but not all, and its okay that way, the story still feels complete.

I really enjoyed this book. I reccommend it to anyone and everyone who enjoys a good read.