"To Whom It May Concern" by Priscila Uppal

Published by Doubleday Canada

Uppal has written, with To Whom It May Concern, a particular kind of work which incites an intellectual rather than a visceral response, a novel that provides a sophisticated and intricate analysis of four family members, each of whom is presented in a manner singularly appropriate to relaying some insight, but about whom I could not give a damn.

The novel is impressive in its meticulous construction of a reality in which the Dange family resides. That is, it is exactly what I would expect from a scholar of English literature. This necessarily leads to a distinction between the scholar and the artist, the artist being that creature whose art is the result of some inspiration, who is more likely to describe his or her work as having a life of its own, of existing prior to its being concretized in the material novel. The work that the artist produces gives the reader a sense of something beyond, of encompassing the reader in itself, of leading him or her along the path which the artist his or herself followed in its creation, of engaging him or her in a natural logic beyond the mundane. In short, this novel brings up the plethora of discussion surrounding the difference between artistic gift and technical aptitude. While it is astounding in its technical proficiency, it fails to convey that something which is the difference between the work of art and the skilled reproduction. There is no hint here of the author’s intention.

The book centres around the various struggles of Hardev Dange and his three children, Emile, Birendra and Dorothy. Hardev is a partial quadriplegic intent on keeping his house despite the new developers’ plans for the neighbourhood. Emile discovers his attraction for his good friend Mohab. Birendra is getting married and, despising the idea of having children, covertly undergoes a tubal ligation. Dorothy is the youngest at 17 and deaf. While I enjoyed her story the most, I would not credit any real 17 year old with her characteristics (most notably her grammar, but also her tendency to create metaphoric names for herself and other objects). These characters’ stories co-mingle in the sense that certain life events lead them to similar conclusions regarding life and human psychology as perceived by Uppal.

I am certain that there are a great many people who will respond to this novel. I would recommend it highly to fans of James Joyce, but not to those who prefer Dostoevsky. Personally, I’m in the latter camp.