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This moving coming of age story explores what it means to be a person of colour in Britain today, discussing themes of identity and the stories that we tell ourselves to manage trauma.
Nik yearns to know more about his father, who died before he was born. His mother, Avani, held hostage by her guilt surrounding his death, refuses to share any information with her son. Nik is forced to create a fragmented image of his father, pulled together from hushed whispers at family gatherings and photos stolen from his mother’s bedroom.
When his grandfather dies, secrets are revealed, and everything Nik thinks he knows about his father is turned on its head. Nik makes it his mission to discover the truth about his father and the circumstances of his death, uncovering painful truths in the process.
The Things That We Lost is a beautifully tender exploration of family, loss, and the lengths we go to, to protect the ones we love.
I'm delighted to be sharing my thought on The Things That We Lost by Jyoti Patel today. Many thanks to #Merky Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my advance copy of the novel, received through Netgalley.
The Things That We Lost is Jyoti Patel's debut novel and was the winner of the #Merky Books New Writers' Prize 2021 and is a perceptive, thought-provoking exploration of growing up as a person of colour in Britain – both in the present day and a few decades ago. Jyoti Patel also movingly examines universal themes which will be familiar to anybody who has experienced loss, especially of the sudden kind.
The third-person narrative follows Avani and her teenage son, Nikhil and by alternating the perspective, a rather poignant picture emerges of two people torn apart by their words and actions. The prologue introduces a younger Avani, full of love and optimism and even though there are nods towards both the personal and societal issues which will feature throughout the book, these first pages are imbued with possibility. It means the impact of the tragedy which led to Avani losing the love of her life and Nik growing up without his father feels even more devastating.
However, it's another death which proves to be the catalyst for the shifting of the dynamics between mother and son. Even though the death of Nik's grandfather isn't entirely unexpected, the gap he leaves is profound and I thought the recognition of the way bereavement changes everything was considered with such insight. Events in the present day take place over just a few months and there are fascinating lines drawn between the more recent upheaval and that which occurred long ago
Throughout the book there are passages set in Avani's past and there are some scenes here which are particularly emotive. There is never any doubt as to the enduring bond which formed between Avani and Elliott but Jyoti Patel never flinches from portraying the worst of humanity too. The older Avani can be a frustrating character at times but these flashback passages ensure her sense of loss and what it meant for her relationship with others is described with such empathy.
Likewise, the development of Nik's character is handled with real insight and I thought it was especially powerful to feature a young man experiencing mental health issues. As with Avani, he is allowed to be a flawed, complex character and the spiralling of his emotions is painful to read about. His reaction to the loss of his beloved grandfather, followed by the sort of life changes which might be expected at his age but which can result in a fracturing of a protective, supportive framework, is so completely believable.
While families and friendships are universal themes explored in The Things That We Lost, this is also a candid look at growing up surrounded by prejudice and racism. There are scenes which I'm sure will be familiar to many Black and Brown British people reading the book. The inevitable question about where a person is really from is particularly resonant in a novel which has belonging as a core theme. The prose is utterly captivating throughout; liberally peppered with Gujarati words and phrases and urban slang, there's a rather beautiful lyricism to the writing, superbly capturing the diversity of speech in modern-day Britain.
The revelations don't come as a surprise and not every loose end is neatly tied up but that further underlines Jyoti Patel's commitment to truly reflect the complexities of grief, regret, love and hope. Sometimes wryly witty, often upsetting and always honest, The Things That We Lost is an outstanding debut and a book which will stay with me, I highly recommend it.
The Things That We Lost will be published by #Merky Books, a Penguin Random House UK imprint on 12th January 2023. Purchasing links can be found here but please support independent bookshops whenever possible.
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Jyoti Patel was born in Paris to British Indian parents and grew up in North West London. She is a graduate of the University of East Anglia’s Prose Fiction MA and winner of the 2021 #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize. Her writing has previously been published as part of We Present's ‘Literally’ series and in the anthology for the 2022 Bristol Short Story Prize, for which she was shortlisted. The Things That We Lost is her debut novel.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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