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Home of the Floating Lily
Home of the Floating Lily | Silmy Abdullah
3 posts | 2 read | 5 to read
Caught between cultures, immigrant families from a Bengali neighbourhood in Toronto strive to navigate their home, relationships, and happiness. Set in both Canada and Bangladesh, the eight stories in Home of the Floating Lily follow the lives of everyday people as they navigate the complexities of migration, displacement, love, friendship, and familial conflict. A young woman moves to Toronto after getting married but soon discovers her husband is not who she believes him to be. A mother reconciles her heartbreak when her sons defy her expectations and choose their own paths in life. A lonely international student returns to Bangladesh and forms an unexpected bond with her domestic helper. A working-class woman, caught between her love for Bangladesh and her determination to raise her daughter in Canada, makes a life-altering decision after a dark secret from the past is revealed. In each of the stories, characters embark on difficult journeys in search of love, dignity, and a sense of belonging.
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review
Gleefulreader
Home of the Floating Lily | Silmy Abdullah
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Mehso-so

A quick read as I nearly forgot I had book club tomorrow. Some stories were better than others, but I couldn‘t help but feel like many of these wouldn‘t stay with me long. The last story, in particular, irritated me in the same way that The Giving Tree did when I read it years ago.

Lindy I haven‘t read Abdullah‘s stories but I sure know what you mean about The Giving Tree. 😐 2y
13 likes1 comment
review
Lindy
Home of the Floating Lily | Silmy Abdullah
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Pickpick

Set either within a Bangladeshi neighbourhood near Toronto or in Dhaka, these short stories illuminate the varied lives of immigrants to Canada. I felt the emotions: the tensions between husband & wife, parents & children; the hopes of opportunities for a better education, dreams of a better life; the rewards of friendship; the perseverance through hardship; the disillusionment of unmet expectations. The complexity of a sense of belonging. #CanLit

quote
Lindy
Home of the Floating Lily | Silmy Abdullah
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“What‘s for breakfast?” I ask Amina.
“Porota, omelette, potato fry, tea,” she says with a smile, exposing her rust-coloured, betel-stained teeth.
Instantly my mouth moistens. Over the past year in Toronto, I‘ve only come to know cereal & Tim Hortons muffins for breakfast. The few times I tried the store-bought porota from No Frills supermarket, it felt as though I was eating rubber.”
[Three stories in this collection have Tim Hortons references]

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