Digging to America

Synopsis: Friday August 15th, 1997 - The night the girls arrived, two tiny Korean babies are delivered to Baltimore to two families who have no more in common than this. First there are the Donaldsons, decent Brad and homespun, tenacious Bitsy (with her 'more organic than thou' airs, who believes fervently that life can always be improved), two full sets of grandparents and a host of big-boned, confident relatives, taking delivery with characteristic American razzmatazz. Then there are the Yazdans, pretty, nervous Ziba (her family 'only one generation removed from the bazaar') and carefully assimilated Sami, with his elegant, elusive Iranian-born widowed mother Maryam, the grandmother-to-be, receiving their little bundle with wondering discretion. Every year, on the anniversary of 'Arrival Day' their two extended families celebrate together, with more and more elaborately competitive parties, as tiny, delicate Susan, wholesome, stocky Jin-ho and, later, her new little sister Xiu-Mei, take roots, become American. While Maryam, the optimistic pessimist, confident that if things go wrong - as well they may - she will manage as she has before, contrarily preserves her 'outsider' status, as if to prove that, despite her passport, she is only a guest in this bewildering country.

Review: This was very easy to read but just occasionally dull. The two families meet by accident, they are both at the airport to take delivery of their newly adopted baby girls from Korea. Jin-ho's new family are there en masse with badges, banners, camcorders and razamatazz whilst Susan's arrival is a rather more quiet affair but the two families bond over their shared experience and every year on the 'Arrival Day' anniversary a party is held and the old videos watched (they're mainly of Jin-ho .. Susan just happened to be captured in the background.) These parties are fairly excrutiating, not to say competitive, Jin-ho's adoptive mother Bitsy is determined to find a song that they can all sing but despite her best efforts the best they can come up with is 'coming round the mountain'. (and though every year she is determined they will sing something else ... she's always thwarted somehow.) It's a bit like 'One Day' in as much as the story is mainly focused on these once a year celebrations. There's plenty of humour as Jin-ho's family, and Bitsy in particular, are a bit pushy and intense (Bitsy is into organic food, hand woven clothes and wearing black and white because 'babies can't see colours.') .. this is in contrast to the Yazdans who are more laid back and reflective but despite being a little overbearing, Bitsy's warmth and genuine good naturedness is the glue that holds them all together and keeps them in touch. The most interesting character is Susan's grandmother Maryam .. she's the one I wanted to read about though I would have liked to know what the two girls made of it all. We rarely see things from their perspective though and the book finishes before they're grown up.

I like the way Tyler writes, her cast of characters were interesting and her observations spot-on. She has something interesting to say too about immigration and how, it doesn't matter how long you've lived in your adopted country, it can still be an alien place to you. I didn't think it was a great book, there were some dull spots, but it was a good one and I'll be interested to read more from her.