>>REVIEW
A PERFECT PLEDGE
Rabindranath Maharaj
Knopf Canada, 401 pp.
The setting: a village in Trinidad. The lead character: an idealistic and ferociously proud sugar cane farmer named Narpat. But is Narpat really the only hook that holds the story together?
Rabindranath Maharaj’s new novel, A Perfect Pledge, focuses primarily on Narpat, a father of four who works tirelessly to bring home the bacon. On the other hand, Dulari, Narpat’s life partner, boldly tackles her impulsive, obstinate husband, while holding the family together amid constant financial struggles. As a dutiful wife, her place is a few steps behind Narpat. Yet she is a stable influence, the sensible mother who always makes sound decisions. Her daughters gravitate towards her, and her husband turns to her for comfort when he is in need.
You almost pity Narpat. He plans to improve the lives of farmers through self-sufficiency. But because he is a rigid taskmaster, hired helpers throw down their tools in frustration, leaving him all by himself to complete a project.
Although Dulari is not a mover and shaker like her husband, she commands the respect of others by holding her head up high despite her living conditions. Her priorities remain crystal clear as she looks over her children’s homework every evening. Education, she says, opens doors of opportunity – something she never had. At 19, two years into her marriage to Narpat and already frustrated over their mounting debt and worried about the future, Dulari turned to her father for advice. He merely told her to "go back to your husband and try and live a good life." Left with little choice, the educated city girl returned to the village with her farmer husband, who toils hard for a pittance. Learning from her own experiences, she’s promised she will not let her children face a similar predicament.
When daughter Kala wins a scholarship, Dulari and the children visit the university campus together. "Drive around the place a little bit," she says. "I want to see where these girls from the village does come to take degree." Dulari dreams big for her daughters. "All of allyou, don’t ever make the mistake of marrying a cane farmer, because it will be hell for the rest of allyou life."
Hell it is – stoking the messy chulha (firewood stove) every day and constantly toeing the poverty line with no break in sight. Exhausted, Dulari thinks to herself, "This numbing ritual of sweeping, cooking, cleaning and washing, this silencing of my mind." She compares herself to Bhola, her businessman brother, who lives in a huge home with servants doing the household chores.
The book gets off to a slow start. Maharaj takes his time creating the vivid imagery of the surroundings and the reader has to get used to the language used by his characters. He’s a writer with a subtle, lyrical style. For example, he beautifully draws out the love between a husband and wife in the simple act of massaging an ankle. The end result is a novel of perfect craftsmanship. |
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