Selma Carvalho discusses themes of immigration, home, belonging and sisterhood in her debut novel, 'Sisterhood of Swans'.
About the Book:
Anna-Marie Souza lives in Horton, a suburb on the hem of London, a far cry from the city of Bombay from which her parents had arrived one cold December day in 1989, two Goans in search of a new life. Born in this land of their dreams, raised in a broken home, Anna-Marie has grown up into a state of constant and indefinable yearning.
Set against a cast of intriguing female characters—Anna-Marie’s Indian-hating Indian mother; her best mate, Sujata, haunted by thoughts of suicide; and Jassie, the sharp-tongued beautician at Bollywood Style Salon—is an ensemble of men who are serial philanderers or, worse still, token brown Conservative party members. In this shaky world, Anna-Marie navigates through the pain of a troubled coming of age, while trying to find her place as a second-generation Indian immigrant.
About the Guest:
Selma Carvalho is a British-Asian writer whose work explores issues of migration, memory and belonging. Her three non-fiction works document the Goan presence in colonial East Africa. Between 2011-2014, she headed the Oral Histories of British-Goans project funded by the HLF and archived at the British Library. Her short fiction and poetry have been widely published in journals and anthologies, among them by Kingston University Press and Parthian Books Wales. She has been listed or placed in numerous literary contests notably Fish, Bath, London Short Story, New Asian Writing, and winner of the Leicester Writes Prize.
This series is hosted by Yoshita Srivastava, literature collective associate at Belongg. She believes inclusive representation is essential for a better future — empathy being key in dismantling prejudice. She is interested in exploring intersections of gender, sexuality, identity and culture studies, and has previously worked at media and social sector organizations.