Our Feet Walk the Sky: Women of the South Asian Diaspora [Paperback]

Women of South Asian Descent Collective (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

first anthology of its kind: essays/memoir/fiction

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This important collection of some 100 fiction and nonfiction pieces by and about first- and second-generation South Asians in America is relevant not only to the current academic interest in postcolonial studies. The work here is compelling and disturbing enough to stand on its own--particularly in its descriptions of destructive power imbalances between men and women who absorb the traditional South Asian beliefs about gender difference. In "Daddy," Zainab Ali tells of a 15-year-old reproaching her father for his second wife, describing him as "a half-time husband who leaves a cold, empty side of my mother's bed every other night while he sleeps at the whore's house. An emptiness that brings my mother's tears of loneliness." In an untitled poem Huma Dar writes of her daughter, a victim of incest ("Were you trying to block the hurting, prying fingers? / Were you trying to tell me what your father was doing to you?"). And in "A Marriage Proposal," Anu Murgai recounts the hostile, domineering relationship between a bright, loving young woman and her future mother-in-law (" 'Don't laugh so loudly,' Mrs. Mehta's voice hissed in her ear . . . 'a young bride should be shy' "). The contributions--gathered around themes of gender and otherness, including lesbian love; current Indian cinema; and the strained relationship between South Asian Americans and African Americans--share an earnest intensity about the pressing nature of such injustices.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This eyeopening collection, which includes poetry, short stories, film criticism, and autobiography, grew out of a class offered at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991. In the text, first- and second-generation women from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma, and Afghanistan comment on all aspects of their lives here and/or in the countries of their origin. Many discuss the conflicts of growing up with one foot in each culture, while others speak bitterly about the harshness of their fathers and brothers and about the mothers and sisters who accept this as their due. Because the issues addressed by women with a feminist consciousness are not necessarily the issues others want them to address, raising a "Third World child in an immigrant community within the First World" is shown to be a constant struggle. Although written for women of the South Asian community, this has something to offer women of all cultures. Highly recommended for South Asian collections; also recommended for women's studies collections.
Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati Technical Coll.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Aunt Lute Books; 1st edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 187996032X
• ISBN-13: 978-1879960329
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,188,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, July 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Feet Walk the Sky: Women of the South Asian Diaspora (Paperback)

As an Indian-American woman, this book filled a void that I faced while developing in the United States. I often felt as if I alone was in constant conflict with my Indian culture and American ideals. This book provides a reference to many different situations that young South Asian women face in this country by facing cultural and religious conflicts head on. I recommend this book to all women of South Asian descent to be read as a reference to our diverse upbringing, so that we understand that there are others out there that are going through similar situations to our own