The Lost Sister

The Lost Sister by Andrea Gunraj was everything. This book, which weaves two different racialized narratives, that of Paula, a black woman who grew up in the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children in the 1940’s (a very real place one of the author’s close friends grew up in - she writes in the acknowledgements about the non-fiction book that details his experiences, and also about writing this book with his permission to honour him), and later about Alisha, a child of South Asian Guyanese parents whose sister is murdered in the late 90’s, and who comes to know Paula during this time of loss. Gunraj states in her introduction to the book that she wants to recognize and celebrate the love that can be built between racialized communities and this book does this, while also telling two powerful and compelling narratives. This book examines loss, familial separation, familial expectations, grief, guilt, secrets, and trying to grow into someone healthier than the person circumstances raised you to be. It is really a painful and beautiful story and a powerful acknowledgement of the history of oppression of people in this country, both past and present, and how it is really within our own communities that we can seek and find healing, particularly when institutions and bureaucracies provide just the opposite. This book also acknowledges Indigenous land, the real anti-Black racism in other communities of colour, and that we are not post-racial at all. I encourage folks to buy this book, because it is excellent, and also, because ALL of the proceeds of this novel go into a scholarship fund for descendants of the survivors of the Nova Scotia School for Coloured Children, which, I just cannot say enough about the fact that Gunraj, who also works with homeless youth, made the choice to use her art to try to address some of that historical wrong. Cue tears. Thank you @netgalley for this ARC, opinions are my own.

The Lost Sister is a story about sisterly bonds, family loss and the pressures of growing up as a young black girl in Canada.

Half the narration is set in the present day and the other half is set in the 1940’s, tracking the lives of two different pairs of sisters. I liked how the constant back and forth between the two time periods was able to highlight how little times have changed for racialised communities in Canada. Paula and Alisha’s friendship is a beautiful union that transcends age through their shared experiences.

I also like how the novel touched on the different attitudes of immigrant parents to their first generation children. Alisha’s present day narrative demonstrated hers and her sister’s frustrations with keeping their parents happy while also trying to fit in with the western cultural practices they’ve grown to know. Throughout the book Alisha and Diana find themselves struggling to understand their mother’s reluctance to let them grow up which leaves the two sisters unable to relate to either their family or their peers.

My one criticism would be that on occasion the narration felt a bit rushed and because of that I didn’t feel entirely satisfied by the ending. It came across as rather a frantic attempt at tying up loose ends and unfortunately I think this lessened the novel’s overall impact. That being said, the The Lost Sister is still definitely worth a read, I give it 4 stars!

The Lost Sister by Andrea Gunraj is a compelling story of race and abduction that is woven seamlessly between two timelines, both the present and the late 1930s, the latter being inspired by true life events at The Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children.

In the present, we meet Alisha and Diana, two sisters of Guyanese descent who are living in a section of Toronto that is largely inhabited by immigrant families. Alisha has always idolized her older sister, and when Diana goes missing and is later found dead, the entire family begins to unravel.

Paula is an older woman who volunteers at Alisha's school and shares her experiences of living as an orphan at The Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children from 1938 onward. She too has lost a sister through differing circumstances, and ultimately helps Alisha to find at least a small measure of acceptance and peace.

This is a novel that will certainly strike a chord. The alternating narratives are equally impactful, and Ms Gunraj is successful in making us empathize with these girls and women. Although they are constructs of the author's imagination, their circumstances and experiences are a reality.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Nimbus Publishing, and Vagrant Press for this ARC.

The Lost Sister by Andrea Gunraj is a novel that offers its readers a powerful, honest, and moving reading experience. It deals with heavy topics and themes that, though are true parts of Canadian history, many Canadians are unaware of.

Exploring themes of family, loss, systemic racism, abuse and guilt, Gunraj's writing is beautiful and dignified, and manages to bring a light to her book's darkness with her compassion for main characters.

The Lost Sister has a dual timeline. In the present day, we follow Alisha and her family as they deal with her older sister who has gone missing in Toronto. In the 1930s, we learn about Paula and her sister’s experience at the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children.

Although this story does follow a missing teenager, this isn’t a mystery or thriller. It explores the relationship between sisters and how an initial closeness in youth doesn’t guarantee the same closeness as adults. I have a lot of thoughts about this but I don’t want to give any spoilers!

This was a really powerful read and introduced me to the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children which I had never heard of before. It also deals with many different types of trauma and grief. This is not an easy read but it is worth the journey.

Thank you to Nimbus Publishing and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book. Although I didn’t read it before the archive date (when I was a newbie) they still put it on my radar!