Title: CHAI TIME AT CINNAMON GARDENS
Author: Shankari Chandran
Read: July 2024
Expected publication: out now
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!
Book Description (Goodreads):
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 Gardens is about family and memory, community and race,
but is ultimately a love letter to story-telling and how our stories shape who
we are.
My musings:
CHAI TIME AT CINNAMON GARDENS is one of the best
and most relevant books I have read so far this year! Don’t be fooled by the
cosy cover and title, because this story is gritty and confronting in parts. It
will touch your soul and break your heart.
Cinnamon Gardens is a nursing home, and if there is a similar place in real
life, please sign me up! Started up by Sri Lankan immigrants, the place truly
cares about its residents, taking not only their bodily needs but also their
spiritual and cultural preferences into consideration. The food alone sounded
divine, and the activities nurturing, provided by people who really care. I
loved the concept so much! Exploring both the beginnings of the nursing home,
going back into the early lives of its founders, as well as its current fate,
was a journey I won’t soon forget.
The most difficult reviews are those of books that are so well written that my
words will do them an injustice, and CHAI TIME AT CINNAMON GARDENS definitely
falls into that category. Chandran manages to pack a lot of content into the
book’s 384 pages, all relevant in Australia today. I learned so much about Sri
Lankan culture and the country’s troubled history, and reflected on parallels
drawn between its colonial history and Australia. The theme of the migrant
experience and racism features prominently and also offered a unique angle from
the author’s family’s own experience. I loved the way Chandran brought her
characters to life, they all felt very real and dear to me.
CHAI TIME AT CINNAMON GARDENS was a bookclub choice, and there was so much to
discuss! As stated before, my words feel totally inadequate summing up my
reading experience and the reflection it prompted. I feel that everyone living
in Australia today needs to read this book! It both warmed my heart and broke
it and I shed many tears over the fates of its characters. Highly recommended!
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