Amma by Saraid de Silva Review

Saraid de Silva’s debut novel Amma is a book of diaspora, generational trauma and queerness. We follow the intertwining lives and different timelines of three generations of women: Josephina, Sithara and Annie, moving between Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia and London. We watch each generation of the family adjust to the difficulties of displacement, interpersonal relationships and finding their place in new environments.

The beginning of the novel sees Josephina struggling with the anticipation of the child marriage her parents are planning for her. On being introduced to her new father-in-law, he rapes Josephina and she retaliates in an unexpected way. The resulting impacts of the event reverberate throughout the generations of the three women. Similar abuse is experience by Sithara from her husband Paul, who is eventually imprisoned for his abusive crimes against her. A sense of redemption is felt when Annie’s girlfriend convinces her to meet up with her father after he is out of prison, but Annie responds with rage and a refusal to forgive her father for abusing her mother. We also follow the lives of Josephina’s children Sithara and Suri, and their struggle to adjust to life in New Zealand having left Sri Lanka. They are bullied and teased for being foreign, but get through the hateful isolation together.

De Silva also represents the difficulties and dangers experienced by queer individuals, as seen in the lives of Annie and Suri. As a young boy, Suri sexually experiments with a boy called Chintu who had been staying with and working for his family. On discovering the two boys together, Josephina shuns Chintu, sending him away to the police. Similarly, when Suri comes out to his mother at the age of 18, she rejects him, and burns his belongings in a rage. In a bitter-sweet contrast, when Annie finally comes out to her grandmother, she is accepted with open arms. Despite this, we still see the dangers Annie experiences as a queer woman. As a ‘stunty’, Annie runs classes for other actors to work with their stunt doubles. After being chased when she is found kissing a woman, she changes her classes to self defence lessons specifically for queer people.

The ending of the novel feels like a full circle moment, seeing loose ends being tied with Annie coming out to her grandmother, Suri returning home, and Josephina admitting that she killed her abuser. The novel is heart-breaking and challenging, at its core exploring the power of family history and what it means to be human in environments which reject or isolate you.

Thank you to Neil at Weatherglass books for my copy of the book. This is not a book to be missed this year! Shop here: https://weatherglassbooks.com/shop/amma