A Convergence of Solitudes

A story of identity, connection and forgiveness,A Convergence of Solitudesshares the lives of two families across Partition of India, Operation Babylift in Vietnam, and two referendums in Quebec.

Sunil and Hima, teenage lovers, bravely defy taboos in pre-Partition India to come together as their country divides in two. They move across the world to Montreal and raise a family, but Sunil shows symptoms of schizophrenia, shattering their newfound peace. As a teenager, their daughter Rani becomes obsessed with Quebecois supergroup Sensibilit and, in particular, the band's charismatic, nationalistic frontman, Serge Giglio whose music connects Rani to the province's struggle for cultural freedom. A chance encounter leads Rani to babysit Mlanie, Serge's adopted daughter from Vietnam, bringing her fleetingly within his inner circle.

Years later, Rani, now a college guidance counselor, discovers that Mlanie has booked an appointment to discuss her future at the school. Unmoved by her father's staunch patriotism and her British mother's bourgeois ways, Mlanie is struggling with deep uncertainty about her identity and belonging. As the two women's lives become more and more intertwined, Rani's fascination with Mlanie's father's music becomes a strange shadow amidst their friendship. (From Book*Hug Press)

This book will be available on May 17, 2022.

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Anita Anand is a writer, translator and language teacher from Montreal. She is the author of Swing in the House and Other Stories, which won the 2015 QWF Concordia University First Book Prize and was shortlisted for the 2016 Relit Award for Fiction.