Release: October 28, 2020
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Wild Pressed Books
Source: Love Books Tours
Find it at Amazon, Kindle, B&N.
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The Coconut Girl is a collection of poems written from the Indian, female perspective with an insight into Punjabi culture. We are also offered insight into the poet’s brain’s hallucinogenic state during cancer treatment and her life experience in multi-cultural Britain. The protagonist in the poems is both deeply vulnerable and strongly independent. Overall, her strength of character shines through. The Coconut Girl features poetry of deep imagery, not least in some of the poems exploring the experience of the female body post-operatively, such as in My Womb Is A Park Of Carnage.
About the Author:
SUNITA THIND is a Bedford born Derby-based published female, Asian British BAME poet, and writer. Her debut collection of multicultural poetry (Black Pear Press, 2020) focused on living between two cultures, British and Punjabi. Sunita is a workshop facilitator, speaker, and performance poet. She has had poetry and short stories published in various literary magazines, e-zines, and journals.
She has dabbled in many things, including being a model, primary and secondary school teacher, and trained as a make-up artist. Being an Ovarian Cancer survivor, she is grateful to have survived it. She is a campaigner and fundraiser for related charities.
She also loves to sing and take singing lessons and is married and has a beautiful, male platinum white Samoyed called Ghost.
The Coconut Girl Review:
I don’t read much poetry, but “The Coconut Girl” intrigued me because of its theme.
Firstly, I liked the concept of the book. Being an Indian, I could see a lot of issues that Indian women face, described poignantly. It’s no surprise that the Indian Society is very conservative and expects people to be a certain way. Unfortunately, there is a lot of pressure to appear ‘fair-skinned,’ stick to arranged marriages and lead a particular lifestyle to uphold the family values. The author did a lovely job of adding many such details, particularly of the Punjabi culture.
Moreover, the author narrates the tale in a personal, raw manner. The girl goes through a lot, from the racial slurs, prejudice from Society to experiencing cancer. There are many emotions in this story as the character lashes out at the trauma she has to face. Furthermore, some of the passages are a bit queasy and difficult to read. The author does not shy away from talking about cancer’s horrors and how it affects the protagonist. Another impressive aspect is how the author makes the passages sound crass and gross, yet beautiful and haunting at the same time.
However, while I enjoyed the story, I feel it would be challenging to resonate with a broader audience only because of the native words. There are a lot of Indian terms that non-Indians might not comprehend. Perhaps a glossary of sorts would have added more value to the book.
Apart from that, this was a fascinating book, and I enjoyed the author’s beautiful narration style. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
Book Tour Schedule:
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on The Coconut Girl by Sunita Thind Blog Tour hosted by Love Books Tours. Check out my post, and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Cen sational reads – 16th Nov-Review
Ceri’s Little Blog – 16th Nov-Review
The Book Reader – 16th Nov-Review
Mandy W87 – 17th Nov-Review
The Faerie Review – 17th Nov-Review Digital
Books Galore – 17th Nov – Review
Mummy Life and Books – 18th Nov-Review
Phoebe’s Randoms – 18th Nov-Review Digital
While my Babies Sleep – 18th Nov-Review
The Pages of MrsD – 19th Nov-Review
Karen and her Books – 19th Nov-Review
Duck Face Kim – 19th Nov-Review
Rajiv’s Reviews – 20th Nov-Review
Daisy Says – 20th Nov-Review
Shivs Stories – 21st Nov-Review
Celeste C. Cruz – 21st Nov-Review Digital
Bookshortie – 22nd Nov-Review
Jane Hunt Writer – 22nd Nov-Review
