Mira Made Me See The Underbelly of Growing Up as Brown |Book review|

 

Shot by Priyanka Patra for Priyanka's Book Gallery

|It may feel a reminder for readers that these situations actually exist and ponder on the question, 'Why'|

In 2019, I was scrolling on Instagram, checking out book reviews updated by popular and upcoming book bloggers. I was looking for contemporary fiction books. I was considering to buy more novels since I'm never satisfied with few stacks. So, as I was browsing, adding down my choices in Amazon's wishlist, my eyes flitted on a cherry-pop red cover — It was definitely a hardcover. The font was blue-grey gradient. I thought, "Is this a fiction?" I tapped on the image, read what the book is about and went back to Amazon's shopping site. The number of books in my cart were enough. One more would mean, I have to pay extra out of the planned budget. 

The bright red book was available on sale. I was contemplating if I want that, I need to sacrifice nixing out a copy I may never get in future. Although, I wasn't planning to go for a memoir, this particular book already had raving reviews which inevitably, the more I read, the more it hooked my curiosity. "Enough!" That's how I screamed in my mind. I made my decision — I hit the 'buy now' for the red book and sadly, had to move the other book I wanted in my collection, on my wishlist.

Title: Good Talk

Genre: Memoir

Author: Mira Jacob

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Publication date: April 18, 2019

Where you can buy? Click here

Mira Jacob's Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations is her memoir about answering the most awkward questions posed by her six-year-old son, Z, who wants to know everything about race and culture being under a sensitive spotlight. Living in the States, Mira tries to fill the blanks her son throws at her about ethnicity, colour and the way people treat each other in the great country. As she answers his rapid fire questions, she goes down the memory lane, reminiscing of her time growing up as 'third Indian family' in Albuquerque to her ambitious immigrant parents and moving to New York for a life she didn't expect would throw her under cropping pressures. This graphic-style memoir integrates Mira's journey living the 'American dream' that she wasn't imagining the way would turn out for her.

The moment I opened, I saw this vast illustration stretching from corner to corner. This is beautiful, isn't it?; Image credit: Priyanka Patra, shot for Priyanka's Book Gallery

The beginning made me laugh. Literally, the first page is hilarious. I couldn't stop flipping the pages. The narration in comic style is amazing. The flow is indubitably candid and precise like usually the way, people engage in conversation. The graphics are eclectic. You will find good number of images from the author's family album and illustrations of her, her family, friends, flings and others who crossed her life. Mira, her son and her husband, Jed, will, animatedly, take you on a ride that will make you wish you were really friends with them. Mira is funny and appears confusing seeking answers to her own delirious situations. Her son is adorable. I found him to be one of my favourites from the book. He asks so many questions about things that often we don't usually have answers for. Like, why skin color is always compared, why people don't feel comfortable with themselves, how he can make his white father feel included and how can he be certain that they truly belong in a complex country. As she ponders on his questions, Mira gives flashbacks about her not-so-perfect moments, back and forth, of her love life, some unreasonable family hard facts, career choices that often didn't favour her and awkward situations that made her feel inferior. 

My favourite scene was Mira sharing her parents' story. She introduces the couple like she is not the one sharing how they met but they are the one's going down the road reminiscing how they met — serious and humourously. Even though it was arranged marriage for the humble pair, her parents' thoughts about each other and silent gestures in exchanging love that made their daughter baffle, made me laugh hysterically. There is also a scene which made me scoff when Mira's grandmother and other relatives judge her dark skin tone. Here's a line from the book when little Mira was forced to think how she wished she could be fair like others,

"For the rest of the trip, every time I looked at myself, I would imagine the lighter, happier, prettier me "

A little child being told how dark they look than their parents are, is despicable and shallow. I know how it feels like. When I was a child, my paternal grandmother used to make me apply Fair & Lovely - a popular face cream in India which ghastly makes women think they can go from dark to white. Many commercials have been created on fairness products that showed how shameful it is to walk brown and proud. Yet, some people in my country foolishly prowl for lightening agents when their favourite bollywood celebrities have actually endorsed them. 

I feel Mira's Good Talk is important to actually consider talking about the brutal facts of traditionalism and insensitive judgements from conventional society. It may feel a reminder for readers that these situations actually exist and ponder on the question, 'Why'. While growing up, I was never told the dark side of things when my relatives settled overseas until I read, learnt and personally experienced racism, misogyny and colourism, within and outside my country. 

Mira comparing her skin color with her brother, Arun and mother to see how much lighter they are than her; Image credit: Priyanka Patra, shot for Priyanka's Book Gallery

Mira's memoir is a must read. She has thoughtfully raised questions on inept empathy toward people of color, which spirals more when hindsight takes the steering wheel and unexpected affirmations which springs up in least expected places, turns into more questions. 

Priyanka Patra is a self-published writer of Upon Me. She lives in Odisha, India with her family in a small town. She has done her MBA in Marketing & HR from Birla Global University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She is aiming to write more books especially in fiction genre.