(no subject)

[bibliogramma]

Venous Hum, Suzette Mayr

Venous Hum is a very funny novel about two women – Jennifer and Lai Fun – with a marriage in the doldrums and a child on the way, who have a shared background of growing up in immigrant families in Western Canada. This might not be the best time for Lai Fun to take on the task of organising a high school reunion with her best friend Stefanja – and not just because she’s having an affair with Stefanja’s spouse Thor – but she gets into it anyway.

As one might expect, some of the key themes involve issues of family, love, parenthood, commitment and loyalty in marriage, the immigrant experience and questions about assimilation vs. maintaining one’s culture of origin, and the ways the experiences and relationships in adolescence can influence life choices. But it’s not really until you finish the book and manage to stop laughing that you realise just how many serious things there are to think about just under the surface.

The satiric and farcical elements are front and centre here, while the speculative and fantastical elements sneak up on you and aren’t fully apparent until the novel’s unexpected yet perfectly suited conclusion.

Reading this was great fun.