Shanti

Linda Perry is a senior policy analyst at the Ontario Ministry of
Colleges and Universities.

This is a novel of paradox—of powerful contradictions, of the
difficult reconciliation of opposites, of the peculiar logic of
maddening absurdity. It is the story of the coming of age of Shanti, an
Indo-Guyanese woman. She is cursed with several advantages: beauty,
intelligence, and fierce independence. Her beauty makes her conspicuous
and attractive to brutish men. Her intelligence makes her strive to rise
above the limitations that she recognizes will continue to enslave her.
Her independence makes her outspoken against those who hold her down and
invite their enmity.

The story essentially describes the many trials inflicted on Shanti:
it’s a story of virtue punished. The plot dwells on the plight of
women in rape after rape, in suicide, deaths, murders. Misery and shame
stalk every episode. The narrative events are a series of hammer blows
to women; Shanti is honored while she is disgraced. The author concludes
her story abruptly and enigmatically, leaving the reader to question
whether her outcome is one of contentment or defeat.

The language and the style are highly lyrical, billowing at times to a
delirium, reflective of the chaos and the turbulence of the world Itwaru
creates. In describing the sociopolitical Guyanese background and
interracial conflicts, the language takes on a scholarly tone, although
without academic detachment.

The readable large print, the helpful glossary of dialect words, and
even the biographical note on the author make Shanti a beautifully
written book and a well-produced one as well.