Book review: Return to Mandalay by Rosanna Ley
Rosanna Ley is an author who any travel-loving reader like me will adore - because of her remarkable ability to bring the sights, sounds, people and cuisine of a place alive through her descriptions. Be it an English cliff-side town in West Dorset (in several of her novels), the spice-scented by-lanes of Morocco (The Saffron Trail), the white-sand beach of Fuerteventura in Canary Islands (Bay of Secrets), or a beautiful seaside village in Sicily (The Villa), her vivid prose has enabled me to virtually travel to these countries and places. Add to this a past-present mystery and a dash of romance and I'm sold! Small wonder that I picked up her "Return to Mandalay" after realising that it is set in Burma or Myanmar, as it is now known, a land I've never before encountered in fiction or in reality, even though the country borders mine.
"Return to Mandalay"revolves around Eva Gatsby who is an antique dealer in an emporium in England. She has always been fascinated by Burma, after hearing innumerable tales of the golden land from her grandfather, Lawrence. Lawrence had spent his youth in Burma in the late 1930s and early 1940s while it was still under British rule. Even though after the end of WWII, he came back to England, never to return, Burma and its people seem to have left an indelible impression on him. So when Eva's boss asks her to go on a business trip to Mandalay to explore some antiques, she jumps at the chance.
On hearing that she is going to Myanmar, her grandfather gives Eva a "chinthe" or a small statue of a lion-like creature which is supposed to guard Burmese holy temples. Chinthes always come in pairs and it seems that a Burmese lady who Lawrence had loved gifted him this chinthe as a protection against evil. Lawrence now wants it to be returned to its rightful owner and be reunited with its twin.
Before she leaves for Myanmar, Lawrence tells Eva about Maya and how he had met and fallen in love with her back in the 1930s, just as the Second World War was about to break out. Maya realises that Lawrence has never forgotten or stopped loving Maya, even though he later married Helen, Eva's grandmother (now deceased). Eva is determined to uncover the whereabouts of the mysterious Maya so that Lawrence can get some sort of closure to his story. So begins Eva's adventure in Mandalay on the banks of the Irrawaddy river in Myanmar.
Eva does manage to locate Maya and her half-English grandson, Ramon, and discovers secrets that even her grandfather does not know. The chinthe too is not what it seems and has an interesting back-story intertwined with the period when the last king and queen of Burma, King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat, were deposed by the British. As Eva tries to find out more about the past, she gets involved in a quest to find a missing chinthe and even embroiled in an international smuggling ring. Her passion for the past, especially antique furniture, draws her closer to the mysterious Ramon who may or may not be involved in the smuggling trade himself.
The story alternates between past and present here, with the past providing a glimpse of the deep and abiding love between Lawrence and Maya and the forces that drive them apart. In the present, parallel to Eva's unfolding quest in Myanmar, there is a side story of Eva's mother, Rosemary, in Dorset, England. Rosemary has never been able to move on in life after the death of her first husband and Eva's father, Nick. Consequently, she has alienated herself from her father Lawrence and her daughter. As Lawrence's health deteriorates and Rosemary nurses him through it, she comes to terms with her relationship with her father, daughter and second husband.
In the present, as Ramon shows Eva around Mandalay, the reader is allowed a leisurely sensory exploration of Myanmar. I felt instantly transported to the roads filled with the aroma of cooking, men and women in colourful "longyis" and clean shaven young Buddhist monks in saffron robes, the lush green gardens of teak and tropical orchids, the traditional houses smelling of coconut oil and sandalwood, and the moonlit nights fragrant with jasmine and fangipani. I too wanted to stand on the U Bein bridge in Amarapura, the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world, and watch as dusk descended on the lake.
I found myself more involved in the present-day adventure that Eva goes through than the doomed love story in the past. Ramon comes across as mysterious yet strangely enticing, just like the intoxicating land to which he belongs. Maya is serene and accepting of her destiny, strong in spite of her outward fragility. Lawrence and Rosemary are perhaps the weakest characters, who too find redemption at the end.
I loved the hours that I spent immersed in the textures of this exotic country of teakwood, gold and Mogok rubies - a land of forgotten riches which still retains its deep spirituality. For me, it was a memorable read - one that is meant to be savoured and not breezed through.
"Return to Mandalay"revolves around Eva Gatsby who is an antique dealer in an emporium in England. She has always been fascinated by Burma, after hearing innumerable tales of the golden land from her grandfather, Lawrence. Lawrence had spent his youth in Burma in the late 1930s and early 1940s while it was still under British rule. Even though after the end of WWII, he came back to England, never to return, Burma and its people seem to have left an indelible impression on him. So when Eva's boss asks her to go on a business trip to Mandalay to explore some antiques, she jumps at the chance.
On hearing that she is going to Myanmar, her grandfather gives Eva a "chinthe" or a small statue of a lion-like creature which is supposed to guard Burmese holy temples. Chinthes always come in pairs and it seems that a Burmese lady who Lawrence had loved gifted him this chinthe as a protection against evil. Lawrence now wants it to be returned to its rightful owner and be reunited with its twin.
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| Pair of Burmese chinthes; Source: pininterest.com |
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| Mandalay; Source: pandaw.com |
The story alternates between past and present here, with the past providing a glimpse of the deep and abiding love between Lawrence and Maya and the forces that drive them apart. In the present, parallel to Eva's unfolding quest in Myanmar, there is a side story of Eva's mother, Rosemary, in Dorset, England. Rosemary has never been able to move on in life after the death of her first husband and Eva's father, Nick. Consequently, she has alienated herself from her father Lawrence and her daughter. As Lawrence's health deteriorates and Rosemary nurses him through it, she comes to terms with her relationship with her father, daughter and second husband.
In the present, as Ramon shows Eva around Mandalay, the reader is allowed a leisurely sensory exploration of Myanmar. I felt instantly transported to the roads filled with the aroma of cooking, men and women in colourful "longyis" and clean shaven young Buddhist monks in saffron robes, the lush green gardens of teak and tropical orchids, the traditional houses smelling of coconut oil and sandalwood, and the moonlit nights fragrant with jasmine and fangipani. I too wanted to stand on the U Bein bridge in Amarapura, the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world, and watch as dusk descended on the lake.
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| U Bein bridge; Source: natav2.com |
I loved the hours that I spent immersed in the textures of this exotic country of teakwood, gold and Mogok rubies - a land of forgotten riches which still retains its deep spirituality. For me, it was a memorable read - one that is meant to be savoured and not breezed through.
Oh my, Mandalay does sound like magic.I know I need to read this book cos even am very unfamiliar with Burma even though our proximity to this land should not have let it be so. While you have mentioned a preference for the present day storyline, even the past one with fabled chinthe twins and royal intrigue sounds completely captivating. This ones is lined to be become my next read for sure!
ReplyDeleteTrust me, you won't be disappointed. Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about Burma but now I feel as if I know the sights and sounds of this place intimately.
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