Review: A Never-Before Experience
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 7, 2010
When the narrator in one of the stories says,  "...recognizing who you are isn't the subtext of a life. It's the main point," she is in fact voicing the main concern of the protagonists of all the other stories placed in this collection. All characterss are obsessed with the discovery of their true identities. These characters belong to, or do not belong to the many cultures they are destined to inhabit-- cultures as different as can be. They turn and toss as they come to terms with the rejections and the constant reminders of their half-caste status, till they decide on their spiritual mooring.Search for identity, although the dominant one,  is not the only thread that knits these stories. There are other recurring themes like addiction, love, racism, mother-daughter relationship, magical powers and so on.The eponymous "House of Skin" exudes a strange, timeless, enchanting atmosphere as the plot about a complicated bond between three characters unfolds.  Uncle Hiro with his bizarre body tattoo and mystical ways both attracts and repels his beloved wife Rachel. Hiro was a colorful character in more senses than one--he was a Samurai, a Yakuza and also showed lama like qualities all at once. He kept on disappearing from her for long periods, but never let the passion for her diminish a bit. "Perhaps their love was so intense his absence was how they kept from killing each other. He casts his charm on the young niece of Rachel and the narrator of the story, even when she was a young girl. The charm does not wear off even after she finds new lovers, goes through many marriages and divorces. The story ends very symbolically: the lively character of Hiro folding up as mysterious imagery, bemoaned by his two lovers. The conclusion is abstract, yet the reader cannot escape its powerful resonance."War Doll Hotel" tells the poignant story of a bunch of  `glamorous refugees' in New York City, residing in the YWCA hostel near the famous Waldorf Hotel (pronounced `War Doll' by two of the `rag dolls'), as they waited for "green cards, a husband, a job, degrees". Three of them gel well--the narrator, a wannabe novelist; Sindiwa, South African journalist and Meena from New Delhi, with ambitions to fight for women's cause in India after getting her law degree. They meet years later, after realizing their respective career ambitions and going through marriages and divorces. Shuffling through the snapshots of their past they realize that "the more we imitated New York, the more we lost the privilege of our uniqueness." A nice story of self-discovery.In "The Lipstick Tree" Eva fights cultural rejection in her own ways, as her family places expectations on her. "Demon Seed" is powerful and provocative.These stories set in islands across the Pacific, are different in their milieu, approach and treatment. Kiana's evocative prose makes reading these exotic tales a unique experience.Chinmay HotaAuthor of 'Hits and Misses'