Red, White, and Whole

Reha talks about the two halves of her life, the Indian half and the American half. She has two best friends: an Indian friend and an American friend. During the week, Reha goes to school and lives in the American world, and on the weekends, she lives in the Indian world. While both worlds contain “gossip and laughter / music and silence / friendship” (11), only one of them contains her parents.

Reha describes her birth and how her mother almost died giving birth to her. The novel poetically describes how her mother stayed alive to look after her daughter, telling the Lord of Death to “[w]ait a while longer” (13). Because of Reha’s traumatic birth, her mother cannot have any more children.

The year is 1983 and Reha is 13. She listens to the song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and thinks about how she wants to “be like everyone else” (14). Amma explains that their family is different from American families because they “work hard, / […] dress modestly, / [and] focus on what is important to succeed” (14). Reha listens to her mother but is conflicted. America is where she was born and is the only home she has ever known.