We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies
2022 • 368 pages
Ratings3
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings3
Average rating4.5
2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist 2022 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Longlist 2022 Toronto Book Awards Longlist For readers of Homegoing and The Boat People, a compelling and profound debut novel about a Tibetan family's journey through exile. In the wake of China’s invasion of Tibet throughout the 1950s, Lhamo and her sister, Tenkyi, arrive at a refugee camp on the border of Nepal, having survived the dangerous journey across the Himalayas into exile when so many others did not. As Lhamo—haunted by the loss of her homeland and her mother, the village oracle—tries to rebuild a life amid a shattered community, hope arrives in the form of a young man named Samphel and his uncle, who brings with him the ancient statue of the Nameless Saint, a relic long rumoured to vanish and reappear in times of need. Decades later, the sisters are separated, and Tenkyi is living with Lhamo’s daughter, Dolma, in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood. While Tenkyi works as a cleaner and struggles with traumatic memories, Dolma vies for a place as a scholar of Tibetan Studies. But when Dolma comes across the Nameless Saint in a collector’s vault, she must decide what she is willing to do for her community, even if it means risking her dreams. Breathtaking in scope and powerfully intimate, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies is a gorgeously written meditation on colonization, displacement, and the lengths we'll go to remain connected to our families and ancestral lands. Told through the lives of four people over fifty years, this beautifully lyrical debut novel provides a nuanced portrait of the world of Tibetan exiles.
Reviews with the most likes.
This beautiful Tibetan family story explores how people can feel tied to a sense of place years or generations after having to leave it. Ranging from a small nomadic community high in the mountains, to their forced relocation to Nepal and finally to a small apartment in Toronto, the book follows the daughters of a highly respected local healer and mystic as they are forcefully displaced as part of China's cultural revolution. Not only are they forced to leave their home, but their community's cultural practices are outlawed, and buildings and artifacts are being systematically destroyed. In spite of the trauma and poverty that arises from the displacement, the sense of community, family and tradition remains steadfast among those in the refugee camp, and beyond.
There's a natural authenticity to these stories that can be rare to find when reading stories like this. All the characters are multidimensional, complicated people, and whether they do good or bad or questionable things, it's always understandable why they do what they do. Even the most hatable characters can become sympathetic in their own way. And by focusing the narrative around a treasured statue, the multiple characters and timelines didn't get overwhelming or confusing.
This book works on many levels: the writing is great and has many quotable moments, the characters and their stories are strong and touching, the cultural references were enlightening, and the perspectives and social commentary about how the West seems to view Tibetan culture really forced me to think differently. I recommend this book highly.
