An Atlas of Impossible Longing

An Atlas of Impossible Longing – Anuradha Roy

Through a strange and unexplained set of circumstances, a family of eccentrics ends up paying the orphanage fees for a baby boy that has no connection to their family. Six years later, they officially adopt the boy into the family. At this time, the grandfather who originally started paying the fees has long since passed away, the grandmother can’t stop herself from shouting obscenities and so is locked in her bedroom all the time, and it is the widower who has been absent from his family and daughter for years that officially adopts the boy. The orphan and his daughter develop a close bond due to their similarities in age and status, although she always has a higher standing in the family because she officially belongs, while he is hardly given more privileges than a servant. As the children grow towards the age where their friendship causes speculation and rumors, the boy is again orphaned, though he is officially sent to a boarding school in Calcutta, far away from the rural village where he grew up. The story continues years later as the boy enters adulthood, a career, and a family of his own. After attempting to put up emotional barriers to protect himself from the pain of his previous “family,” he can never really remove himself from the past. It returns to him, both in memory and person, and smashes any semblance of peace he had achieved for himself. But with the past comes the opportunity to remove regrets, and he finds a chance to build the life he always wanted.

“An Atlas of Impossible Longing” is set in India around the time of WWII and the partition (I would like to be all smart and fancy and tell you which parts of India were separating and where the Muslims and Hindus were forced to move, but my Indian history isn’t so great). The story is slow to get into at first because not a lot is explained. We get a long (what’s the word when you introduce characters and setting? I can’t remember), and it doesn’t seem very compelling or important at first. Even after reading it, I didn’t understand why it was so important because the grandpa dies and the story focuses on his son and his son’s kids – his biological daughter and the adopted orphan. But the culture is beautiful. Although it focuses mostly on family structure and relationships within the family, it also touches on the hierarchy of society, imperialism, racism, and corruption. There are so many layers to read, and also to read between.

It was hard to get into, and not the easiest or most compelling book I’ve ever read, but it really made me think and I love books that make me think. It made me think about family, interpersonal relationships, individual relationships, personal choices, and how one action can reverberate across so many social spheres. My favorite part of the book was that the orphan goes into the business of evicting other people from their homes. The homeless making homeless out of others. The symbolism of houses and families set against the background of the partition and worldwide strife is absolutely beautiful. It’s worth a read.