Just over a year after her debut novel, When You Ask Me Where I’m Going, captivated readers, Jasmin Kaur is releasing her sophomore work, If I Tell You the Truth. With a similarly unique format, Kaur weaves together prose, poetry, and illustrations to bring readers back to the lives of the characters from her first book, while also expanding the bounds of their world and of her storytelling.
If I Tell You the Truth is the powerful tale of a mother and daughter pair, Kiran and Sahaara, which alternates between each of their viewpoints. The basic premise is this: Kiran has fled her home in India after being sexually assaulted by her fiance’s brother, leading to a pregnancy for which she is shamed by her family. She begins to attend university in Canada as previously planned; but after Sahaara is born, and her family cuts ties with her, it becomes more and more difficult to attend school while working to support herself and her child.
The story follows Kiran as she overstays her visa, doing what she must to raise and protect her daughter, while fearing she will be deported due to her undocumented status. As Sahaara grows older and learns the truth of her conception, she fights to help her mother both remain in Canada and raise her voice against the violations she has faced.
Because of the weighty subject matter broached by Kaur in this book—sexual assault, trauma, immigration, domestic violence, mental health, substance use—she is deliberate about placing a trigger warning front and center for readers. And rightfully so. Through Kiran’s experiences, Kaur highlights cultural expectations as related to gender roles, marriage, and control of making choices in one’s own life (or, rather, the lack thereof). The disbelief and lack of support Kiran is faced with over and over as she tells her story, the fact that she is essentially disowned by her family, are astounding yet true-to-life. The compounded trauma of not just being raped, but also of raising a child who is the product of rape in an unfamiliar country while facing separation from family, lacking supports, and fearing deportation is absolutely crushing.
Yet, despite all of this, Kaur emphasises how Kiran is a remarkably resilient woman. The vast love and hope she holds for her daughter are beautiful and inspiring, as she sacrifices time and again to provide for her daughter’s interests and future. She builds a network of supports and a home of her own with the love and help of friends; after all, family is more than just the group of people you are born into. And, perhaps most powerfully, Kiran demonstrates the strength it takes to walk through life holding such heavy secrets, as well as the courage required to raise one’s voice against injustice.
It is not the subject matter alone which makes this such a compelling read; the power of Kaur’s writing is what takes this book to the next level. The use of poetry throughout to push the narrative forward, but also as a form of catharsis for the characters, is innovative. The clear messages about the intersection of power, class, gender, race, and ethnicity—as well as how these factors are used to oppress and silence — are both timely and necessary. And Kaur also instills hope: that single voices can make a difference IF we take the time to listen, and that the world at large can then change as a result of these voices IF we take the time to act.
While If I Tell You the Truth is marketed for young adults, I highly recommend this one for adults as well. Kaur’s one-of-a-kind style is captivating and the story she tells here is critically important on so many levels.
If I Tell You The Truth is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 19th 2021. Many thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Told in prose, poetry, and illustration, this heartrending story weaves Kiran’s and Sahaara’s timelines together, showing a teenage Kiran and, later, her high school–aged daughter, Sahaara.
Kiran is a young Punjabi Sikh woman who becomes pregnant after being sexually assaulted by her fiancé’s brother. When her fiancé and family don’t believe her, she flees her home in India to Canada, where she plans to raise the child as a single mother. For Kiran, living undocumented means constant anxiety over finances, work, safety, and whether she’ll be deported back to the dangers that await her in Punjab.
Eighteen years later, Kiran’s daughter, Sahaara, is desperate to help her mother, who has been arrested and is facing deportation. In the aftermath, Kiran reveals the truth about Sahaara’s conception. Horrified, Sahaara encourages Kiran to speak out against the man who raped her—who’s now a popular political figure in Punjab. Sahaara must find the best way to support her mother while also dealing with the revelation about her parents.
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