LoveReading Says
Heart-rending, enlightening and beautifully-written Shankari Chandran’s Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens presents a cast of richly-drawn characters whose stories reveal broad stroke historic, political and cultural contexts. It’s a multi-layered trove of storytelling excellence that also shows how our stories mould us into who we are, and who we become.
Inviting empathy at every turn, the novel is set in the idyllically named Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home in Sydney. Founded by Maya, a Sri Lankan refugee, and now run by her daughter, “over the four decades that Maya has run the nursing home, it has been terraformed from a neglected wilderness to orchards and large beds of vegetables that feed the residents”. It’s a safe oasis, a place where residents’ cultures and histories are respected, and their stories listened to. Through these stories, we learn of the horrors and trauma of the Sri Lankan civil war that saw many flee to Australia, then there’s the prejudice and outright racism migrants faced in their new country, and continue to be confronted by today.
Brimming with a sense of community and love alongside revealing truths about the brutality of war, persecution and racism, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens is as gritty as it is gorgeously written – an awareness-raising read with emotional resonance.
Joanne Owen
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Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens Synopsis
';Deftly traversing time, culture and continent to weave a tale of both home and unbelonging, this is truly a novel not to be missed.' - Maxine Beneba Clarke, author of Foreign Soil and The Hate Race ';Chandran is an excellent storyteller.' - The Weekend Australian ';This is an engaging story that feels both urgent and necessary. It is also a terrific read.' - The Daily Telegraph';this story burns with anger and sings with optimism, sprinkled through with moments of levity and humour.' - The Canberra Times Welcome to Cinnamon Gardens, a home for those who are lost and the stories they treasure. Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful recreation schedule. But this ordinary neighbourhood is not without its prejudices. The serenity of Cinnamon Gardens is threatened by malignant forces more interested in what makes this refuge different rather than embracing the calm companionship that makes this place home to so many. As those who challenge the residents' existence make their stand against the nursing home with devastating consequences, our characters are forced to reckon with a country divided.Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardensis about family and memory, community and race, but is ultimately a love letter to storytelling and how our stories shape who we are. Wise and dignified. - The Australian Womens Weekly ';An engrossing, urgent, warm, wise and utterly, utterly beautiful novel.'- Emily Maguire, author of An Isolated Incident and Love Objects ';This is a book that requires concentration and full immersion but it will reward the reader for that investment.' - The Guardian';a powerful, compassionate novel about friendship, family, community-building, and the racism faced by members of diasporic communities in this country.' - The AU Review
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