Today, we celebrate the release of A Convergence of Solitudes by award-winning author Anita Anand! Read on to learn all about this highly anticipated debut novel and for information about tonight’s launch!
Happy book birthday to A Convergence of Solitudes by Anita Anand!  This debut novel, which has already appeared on a series of ‘Most Anticipated’ reading lists—including from CBC Books, 49th Shelf, and the Hamilton Review of Books—presents the lives of two families across the Partition of India, Vietnam’s Operation Babylift, and two Quebec referendums. A story of identity, connection, and forgiveness, A Convergence of Solitudes is a gift to CanLit.
Teenage lovers Sunil and Hima defy taboos to come together as India divides in two. They traverse the world to Montreal and raise a family, but Sunil shows symptoms of schizophrenia, shattering their new-found peace. As a teenager, their daughter Rani becomes obsessed with Québécois supergroup Sensibilité —and the band’s charismatic, nationalistic frontman, Serge—connecting her to the province’s struggle for cultural freedom. When a chance encounter leads Rani to babysit Mélanie, Serge’s adopted daughter from Vietnam, she fleetingly enters his inner circle.
Years later, Rani, now a college guidance counsellor, discovers that Mélanie 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, Mélanie struggles with uncertainty about her identity. As the two women’s lives intersect, Rani’s fascination with Serge’s music becomes a strange shadow amidst their friendship.
A Convergence of Solitudes Book Launch
In person:
De Stiil Bookstore
351 Avenue Duluth E,
Montréal, QC
All are welcome. People attending in person are asked to please wear a mask.
Join the live stream here: https://youtu.be/6jHQKUWI-Eg
That’s all for now, dear reader. Please join us again in wishing a very Happy Book Birthday to A Convergence of Solitudes by Anita Anand. Purchase a copy from our online shop or your local independent bookstore today. Happy reading!