Coconut Dreams

Name: Coconut Dreams
Brand: Findaway
Availability: InStock
Author: Derek Mascarenhas
ISBN: 9781771666572

Author: Derek Mascarenhas

Narrator: Rishma Malik, Raoul Bhaneja

Unabridged: 7 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Book*hug Press

Published: 09/30/2020

Categories: Fiction, Short Stories, Cultural Fiction

Synopsis

Coconut Dreams explores the lives of the Pinto family through seventeen linked short stories. Starting with a ghost story set in Goa, India, in the 1950s, the collection weaves through various timelines and perspectives to focus on siblings Aiden and Ally Pinto and their experience of growing up in a predominantly white suburb with innocence, intelligence, and a timid foot in two distinct cultures. Here, Derek Mascarenhas takes a fresh look at the world of the new immigrant and the South Asian experience in Canada. A daughter questions her father's love at an IKEA grand opening; an aunt remembers a safari-gone-wrong in Kenya; an uncle's unrequited love is confronted at a Goan Association picnic; a boy tests his faith amidst a school-yard brawl; and a childhood love letter is exchanged during the building of a backyard deck. Singularly and collectively, these stories will move the reader with their engaging narratives and authentic voices.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ben on July 27, 2021

Coconut Dreams is an anthology of seventeen short stories written by Derek Mascarenhas. These interconnected short stories are told from the perspective of Aiden and Alley Pinto, who are a part of the South Asian immigrant family to Canada. For the most part, this collection of short stories was writ......more

Goodreads review by Diane on March 02, 2022

I liked the motif of coconut trees recurring, and the device of linked short stories always intrigues me... how characters and lives cross paths in different ways. Several stories contained outbursts of sudden physical violence: pushes to the ground, car crashes, heart attacks. The author leaves a lo......more

Goodreads review by Kali on October 13, 2020

Coconut Dreams was a lovely multigenerational collection of short stories. It was well-written and the audiobook narration was very well done. There were various narrators from different points in time and, not realizing at first that this was a collection of related short stories, this left me wish......more

Goodreads review by Yvonne on July 26, 2019

wonderful collection of short stories representing an often overlooked group of Canadians. characters were richly developed and like so many canadian authors the land plays an integral part but we have two distinct landscapes and cultures shaping their experience. looking forward to his next work.......more

Goodreads review by Mandy on September 23, 2020

I loved how these stories connected to me, as a brown Catholic myself. I have struggled with loss of faith during difficult times, and I have also experienced the joy of eating the best part of a mango (the seed). Amazing writing!......more