Amla Mater

In the stillness of autumn, I feel I can almost hear someone hum 'Lokame tharavadu (the world is my home)....'

In her tiny flat in East London, as Mili waits for her baby to arrive, little things remind her of her life in India---the scent of jasmine flowers, a heavy downpour, a late-night cup of coffee, an amla or gooseberry-and she is overcome with a deep desire to recreate the flavors of her childhood. Can a jar of amla pickle help her travel back to that safe haven she once called home?

In this sweetly nostalgic graphic novel, the narrator recounts her meandering journey from her ancestral village in South India to the United Kingdom, capturing the deep feeling of longing for home that shapes the lives of emigrants everywhere.

Honor Book, Virginia Library Association Graphic Novel Diversity Award (2018)

Author: Devi Menon
Publisher: Yali Books
Published: 06/15/2018
Pages: 146
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.00w x 0.31d
ISBN: 9780989061599

Review Citation(s):
Foreword 06/26/2018

About the Author
Menon, Devi: - Devi Menon is a software professional by day and a bedtime story weaver by night, forced to concoct tales from five random words that her niece and nephew come up with-tales of moons, cats, clocks, blues, and much of muchness. This is her first graphic novel. Devi has been featured in The Inking Woman: 250 Years of Women Cartoon and Comic Artists in Britain (Myriad Editions 2018), a groundbreaking picture-led celebration of the work of over 100 named British artists.