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IMMIGRANT

W.F. Westcott

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*Appeared in Christian Monitor, India,

November 2, 1980.

Reghu Nath, young and seeking political stability in a new land is the protagonist in Stephen Gill's novel, Immigrant. In the opening pages, Nath is speeding his way across the Atlantic in a VC 10 and seven hours later he lands in Montreal at the height of Canada's Centennial celebration, Expo 67. Finding accommodation impossible to locate in Montreal, he leaves for his true destination, Ottawa, where he intends to go to University.

Gill's novel traces Nath's trials and tribulations as he suffers culture shock, demanding professors, difficult women, Canadian bureaucracy, and haunting memories of his native India. Many times Gill draws on his personal knowledge of Asian life to illustrate Nath's difficulty adapting to a totally foreign political social clime. Some amusing anecdotes lend to Gill's keen awareness of cultural differences between Canada and Nath's native land. One particular incident stands out. Nath upon meeting an East Indian compatriot warmly clasps hands and attempts to walk hand in hand with his countryman. His newfound friend, already tuned into North American mores, rejects Nath's gesture with a stern, "This is not India."

Very quickly, Nath learns to withhold his native mannerisms and painfully rejecting what had become so much a part of him, proceeds to adapt and try to understand this new land, Canada, which he believed to be, for him, a land of opportunity. Nath believes since he chose to adopt Canada as home and forsake his native land, he can no longer turn back to his Asian nation where he would be seen as a failure by both family and countrymen.

Immigrant does a fine job portraying a new Canadian's plight. The problems, language barriers, cultural discrepancies, and a longing for the mother country can easily be seen in the strife faced by any new person in any new country. Immigrant, will I am sure, be a satisfying read for anyone who has encountered prejudice and adjustment pangs as an immigrant, anywhere.

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