asianamlitfans | Apr. 8th, 2009

A Review of Valmiki’s Daughter by Shani Mootoo (House of Anansi Press, 2008).

Shani Mootoo’s work has typically explored the valences of Caribbean regional geographies and queer sexuality. Valmiki’s Daughter follows in this interesting and eclectic intersectional vein. The title of the novel stems from the ways in which choices that individuals make across one generation to the next seem to perpetuate around questions of domesticity, marriage, and the containment then of queer sexual urges. The family at the center of the story includes Valmiki, a doctor, his wife, Devika, and their two daughters, Viveka (of which the title refers) and her younger sister Vashti. The death of one child, a boy, has haunted the family for many years, refusing to relinquish its hold, especially on Viveka, who at one point, literally tries to take the place of him, by wearing his old clothes. Viveka is near the graduation point of high school and on the verge of womanhood. Desiring to play more sports although already considered to be “mannish,” Viveka constantly harangues her parents for more freedom both in her dressing habits and in her extracurricular choices. Viveka clearly takes after her father, Valmiki, who by this point, has initiated a queer extramarital relationship with a man named Saul, a relationship that Devika is well aware-of and given the fact that Devika and Valmiki’s sex life is so absent, she is particularly angered by this infidelity. However, this sexual indiscretion is one of many Valmiki takes part in both queer and not, and so the stakes are then laid out for the novel in which the father’s own exploits will be the pattern that the daughter may or may not emulate. The question about which way the daughter will end up traveling is the pressure which catalyzes the novel forward. A number of casual sexual dalliances with other similarly aged boys begins Viveka’s exploration of her sexuality, but it will be the arrival of a French woman named Anick (who marries Nayan, the son of a Trinidadian island magnate) that truly begins to test Viveka’s sexual identity.

As with Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms with Night, the novel soars in areas where the Caribbean geography is highlighted—the dense tropical landscape, the heat, and yet, the stifling nature of social relations combines together in a boiling cauldron that is always just about to overflow. Mootoo’s writing is always vivid, concrete, and possesses an earthiness that is a joy for any reader to behold. The novel is also much a story about Trinidad’s elite social circles and as we discover, Valmiki and his family are at the pinnacle. It will be Devika who spends much of her hours planning future dinner parties where the upper class show up, are wine and dined, and gossip. This element of class is vital to the story precisely because so much sexual indiscretion is occurring. People must cover up their infidelities, constantly tell lies, or put on masks in order to hide the truth of their actions. The often casual way in which people enter into relationships and friendships does, at times, seem astonishing, but the actions of such characters seem fitting given their often incredibly straining situations.

Also, much like the aforementioned Cereus, Mootoo is bent on destroying any unitary understanding of sexuality as either gay or straight, heterosexual or homosexual. Her characters seem to suggest that sexuality is truly a fluid register which are only contained when societal expectations emerge, especially in this novel’s case, for those in the upper echelons who must maintain appearances. There is thus always the emphasis on manners, saving-face, and on propriety to the extent that we begin to understand how so many characters feel imprisoned, unhappy, and wishing to throw away even their monetary security. Nevertheless, as can be expected, the wishful fantasies of those hallowed few are hardly ever followed, and one cannot be surprised by the ending; it some ways then, the novel is ultimately a very realistic, if not sobering one.

It is unfortunate though at this time that the novel is relatively difficult to purchase, as it maintains quite a high-fetching price as a used copy on amazon.com. One hopes that it will eventually receive a wider distribution, particularly for those of us in the United States. Given the concerted effort by many in Asian American Studies to broaden the field, hemispherically, Mootoo has persistently and invaluably reminded us that we must be aware of these directionalities.

Another review of Valmiki’s Daughter can be found here:

http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Book_review_Valmikis_Daughter-5877.aspx

Buy the Book Here:

http://www.amazon.com/Valmikis-Daughter-Shani-Mootoo/dp/0887842208

http://www.anansi.ca/titles.cfm?pub_id=1281