"Not this, not that" : in-between identities in The in-between world of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji

Title: "Not this, not that" : in-between identities in The in-between world of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji
Source document: The Central European journal of Canadian studies. 2008, vol. 6, iss. [1], pp. 133-142
Extent
133-142
  • ISSN
    1213-7715 (print)
    2336-4556 (online)
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
 

Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.

Abstract(s)
How useful is it to define Canadian literature as postcolonial literature? Can we talk about Canadian multicultural identities as postcolonial, or has the adjective "postcolonial" lost its usefulness when discussing "Canadian identity" as an umbrella term? Has "postcolonial" instead become reserved for the description of only a part of its spectrum: the hyphenated and/or immigrant identities coming from (other) former British colonies, now settled in Canada? The paper addresses these questions by focusing on the novel The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji (2003). Following the unravelling of the main character's memories and the juxtaposition of his life as an immigrant in Canada in the present to his life as a descendant of Indian immigrants in Kenya in the past, the paper analyzes the ways in which the novel debates the key issues of belonging, race and dislocation and their relation to the idea of individual identity.
Est-il bien utile de définir la littérature canadienne comme une littérature post-coloniale? Pouvons-nous évoquer les identités multiculturelles canadiennes comme des identités post-coloniales, ou cet adjectif a-t-il perdu sa pertinence en tant que terme parapluie en ce qui concernr l'"identité canadienne"? Le "post-colonial" est-il désormais plutôt réservé à la description d'une partie seulement de son éventail, à savoir les identités "à trait d'union" et/ou immigrantes venant d'(autres) anciennes colonies britanniques, venues se fixer au Canada? Le présent article pose ces questions à partir du roman The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, de M.G. Vassanji (2003). Suivant le dévidage des souvenirs du personnage principal, avec la juxtaposition de sa vie d'immigrant au Canada dans le présent et de sa vie de descendant d'immigrants indiens au Kenia dans le passé, l'article analyse les façons dont le roman traite les questions clés de l'appartenance, de la race et de la dislocation, ainsi que leur relation avec l'idée d'identité individuelle.
References
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