The Sound of Language

by: Amulya Malladi

Published by: Ballantine Books (December release)

Reviewed by Beth Cummings

While it is not difficult to find books depicting the refugee/immigrant experience in the United States, Amulya Malladi has given this book a twist by setting it in Denmark. Raihana Khan is an Afghani woman who was able to leave her Taliban-controlled country. She is alone in a Pakistani refugee camp when she receives word that a cousin living in Denmark would take her in.

Raihana arrives in Denmark with no knowledge of the language or culture. To her ears the Danish language sounds like the hum of bees – completely unintelligible. But Danish law requires her to go to language class and learn to speak and read it. Her cousin’s wife, Layla, is also in the class and is initially helpful in translating Danish into Dari – Raihana’s native tongue.

She is a good student and her teacher, Christina, pairs her with an old friend who has recently lost his wife, to practice speaking Danish with a native speaker, and also to learn beekeeping. Gunner is not initially excited about his new assistant. He harbors several prejudicial ideas about what an Afghani woman might be like. But Raihana is bright, educated, hard working and truly interested in the bees. She wins him over and at the same time finds that she truly loves working with honeybees.

This book deals with the many difficulties of being a refugee and a widow – particularly in a small homogenous country such as Denmark. People are not generally happy to have an influx of non-Danish people in their midst. The refugees themselves are not sure they even want to be in this cold, damp place where everyone eats pork and seem to look askance at all Muslims. Malladi currently lives in Denmark and has firsthand immigrant experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The play of cultures was fascinating. I have read two other enjoyable novels by Malladi – Song of the Cuckoo Bird and Serving Crazy with Curry. This book is even better than those.

Armchair Interviews says: Well-written story that brings this person’s struggle to life.