You Bring the Distant Near is a book I’ve wanted to read for around 4 years. I remember seeing its shiny cover at my local library. Nowadays, book covers are so fancy that you want to read books without even looking at the summary. Though that doesn’t mean the summary is less compelling than the cover. It’s interesting, because I thought the story would revolve around African characters just from the title and cover, but it consists of Asian characters—Bengali ones to be exact. Looking at the cover more closely, I see its connection with the summary and notice that my assumptions were totally incorrect.
Though about the story’s synopsis…
Synopsis: You Bring the Distant Near is a book by Mitali Perkins that focuses on five Bengali women across three generations. They are all part of the Das family, with Ranee Das being the mother of Tara and Sonia Das. Along with her husband, Rajeev Das, they live together as a family and relocate to different countries as his job demands. In the beginning, they live in Ghana, followed by the U.K. and the U.S. This has caused tension among the family, especially since Tara loves acting and Sonia is a feminist.
After Tara and Sonia grow up and start a family, the story begins to focus on their children. Anna Sen is Tara’s daughter, and Chantal Johnson is Sonia’s daughter. Their mothers are different. Tara becomes a Bollywood actress and Sonia becomes a feminist journalist. Though throughout the three generations, they navigate family conflicts, identity crises, cultural barriers, and debates about what it means to be an American. Bullying is not a common occurrence in this book, but ignorance persists among the White supporting characters. And amongst the family, they attempt to hang on to Bengali traditions while also attempting to assimilate in some ways. Given that Anna and Chantal are American citizens by birth and their mothers were not born in the U.S., self-contentment with their lives is complicated.
And fun fact: The book title is inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry, who wrote in the 2nd line of “Poems” that “thou hast brought the distant near.” He was a Bengali writer, philosopher, creator, and activist who was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (read more about him here).
Review: I really like how You Bring the Distant Near covered intercultural struggles from a Bengali point of view. Bengali culture is not commonly talked about in the U.S., and Bangla is not a commonly mentioned language either. It was interesting to read some Bangla phrases and words. But, the full Bangla phrase should be given if it’s meant to be said in Bangla, instead of just giving it in English. There’s nothing wrong with writing phrases in a foreign language if it’s meant to be said in that language. Having the two translations side-by-side would not be a problem.
I know it’s not a customary practice, but it should become one. Readers should be exposed to the linguistics of different languages. It won’t hurt them to read the English translation and the original phrase in combination with each other. You don’t have to learn a language in order to learn facts about another language, and it’s time to think outside the Anglocentric box.
I also like that it showcased an interracial relationship that doesn’t have a White partner. Chantal is half-African American (father) and half-Bengali (mother), which is uncommon. In fact, Black/Asian relationships are uncommon in general. Even so, there should be more portrayals of interracial couples of color. This would mean not just Black/Asian couples, but also Black/Latino couples, Asian/Latino couples, Pacific Islander/Black couples, and other interracial pairings across different sexualities. Not every interracial relationship has a White partner, nor does it have to.
As for the story itself, it was compelling to follow a family who moves around. Their most recent stop was Ghana, but they eventually moved to the U.K. and then the U.S. A Bengali in Ghana sounds unusual, but there are South Asian folks that live in African countries like Ghana and Kenya. Mind you that the Das family was originally from India and their nationality was “Indian,” but they were ethnically Bengali*. Nationality and ethnicity are two different things, and multiple ethnic groups can claim a single nationality.
In addition, the writing did a wonderful job exposing Ranee’s colorist and racist behaviors. She changes towards the end, but I got angry when she told Sonia to put on some whitening cream and said that the Flushing neighborhood in Queens is bad due to seeing plenty of Black kids but hardly any White kids. Some parts of the book tugged on my heartstrings like that, because the characters’ actions were explained with such realism. It’s like the events were taking place right in front of my eyes. That’s a sign of good writing, and Perkins successfully wrote a multidimensional story through her usage of pathos and description.
There are still a couple of flaws, however. One of them is that at a few points, it was hard to cipher who said what. This problem doesn’t revolve so much around the main characters, but rather the supporting characters. For example, there’s a part where Tara visited Bangladesh for a few days and one of the visitors was Mrs. Masjid. I’m referring to pages 152-53, because that part was where the transition in speakers was confusing, more specifically on the 2nd paragraph. In some spots, there could’ve been a smoother transition or note of who was speaking.
Though about the main characters, there could have been more clarification on certain events. There is one part where Sonia and Lou (her eventual husband) went to the same university, and Lou’s father is a professor at Princeton University. However, there was no mention of the university Sonia and Lou actually went to. I assume it was Princeton, but it would’ve been helpful to explicitly state that.
And I’ma be honest, the first 2 parts of You Bring the Distant Near were enjoyable and cohesive. They really were. They took you on a journey with the Das family that was tumultuous, yet exciting to read, especially with time traveling involved. While the 3rd part was interesting in the beginning, it wasn’t cohesive with the rest of the book. The plot execution was at its worst during the last 65 pages. The ending was not satisfying, and I wish Anna’s post-high school life and interests were further discussed. She was known for her advocacy of Bengali tigers, but why wasn’t that expanded on further?
Why wasn’t she able to further capitalize off her strengths after moving from Mumbai to New York? Her feminist activism did result in an upgraded locker room that allowed girls to dress privately if they preferred, but then being rejected from the debate team just because her style wasn’t preferred? Come on. This showcased a prime example of Anna walking on an intercultural tightrope. She was an American citizen that spent the majority of her life in India, which made finding her sense of belonging complicated. However, it also would’ve been interesting to hear more about her life in India through having a chapter of Anna discussing her life in India. That would’ve made for a better story than her moving to New York doing God knows what.
Also, the major personality change Ranee made after 9/11 is iffy at best. I don’t know how I feel about that part. It’s not unrealistic, but it’s rather chaotic. Although like the family members, I was disturbed by it too.
Final Verdict: Overall, You Bring the Distant Near definitely brought the distant closer to me. The real-world issues of cultural barriers, family relationships, and belonging are beautifully covered in this story. The passage of 4 decades showed the evolution of the Das family through the good, bad, and ugly. While the execution had room for improvement, the final product suffices. I LOVED the first 2 parts—those parts were definitely the best. It’s part 3 that was the weakest of all. Perhaps Chantal and Anna didn’t have to be brought up as part of the story at all. Perhaps the story could’ve expanded more on Tara’s and Sonia’s adult life and stopped after becoming parents. I could spend plenty of time thinking of an alternative ending, but I don’t have a lot of time for that.
Anyways, I think my rating reflects my overall opinion of the book. And despite my criticism, I say that you should read it. You’ll be catapulted to another world, another worldview, another time period, and another dimension of your imagination
*Bengali is different from Bangladeshi in that Bengali is an ethnic group, while Bangladeshi is a nationality that refers to all citizens of Bangladesh, regardless of ethnic group. Read more here: https://autolingual.com/bengali-vs-bangla
