Honor Book, VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award (2018)

Amla Mater

by Devi Menon

Age Range: 16+
Pages: 144
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0989061599 (Paperback), 978-0989061575 (eBook)

In the stillness of autumn, I feel I can almost hear someone hum ‘Lokame tharavadu (the world is my home)….’

In her tiny flat in East London, as Mili waits for her baby to arrive, little things remind her of her life in India—the scent of jasmine flowers, a heavy downpour, a late-night cup of coffee, an amla or gooseberry—and she is overcome with a deep desire to recreate the flavors of her childhood. Can a jar of amla pickle help her travel back to that safe haven she once called home?

In this sweetly nostalgic graphic novel, the narrator recounts her meandering journey from her ancestral village in South India to the United Kingdom, capturing the deep feeling of longing for home that shapes the lives of emigrants everywhere.

"Eloquently comparing cultures by reminding us of our commonality of experience, and examining our conceptions of home with a gentle grace, Amla Mater is a graphic novel of great warmth and subtle passion."

“Amla Mater is a meditation on memory... Menon’s art is simple but graceful, and carries an air of intimacy...”

“Devi Menon's wonderfully told story explores notions of home, identity and longing in her lyrical homage to memory."

“...the story is warm, evocative and tender...and resolved in the most satisfactory way imaginable!”

"...Amla Mater is an idea bomb where thoughts about moving through life in a hetero-female embodiment keep fizzing in the brain long after reading the last page."

"Amla Mater, can easily be called a ‘coming of age’ kind of book for it captures the various stages in a woman’s life exceptionally well. The climax had me in happy tears, as I witnessed the power of true friendship and heartfelt relationships. It left me joyous on having found a friend in Mili."

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