A book about immigrant lives is often interesting because it reveals not only the discoveries, good and bad, made in the new country but also the things left behind. Food factors prominently in the mini memoirs of the 27 writers who have contributed to
Joyful Strains, all of whom have made Australia home. Shalini Akhil writes with relish about the ability of certain foods to take you far away and decades back to when they were first eaten. A goat curry ordered in Melbourne came with a flashback to meals consumed at her father's office in Fiji. Racism (mainland-born Ouyang Yu's and Iranian Ali Alizadeh's essays will make you flinch) and racial indifference (Meg Mundell tells of Australians' disinterest in New Zealand culture) are other themes. But, of course, there is also the positive. Hsu Ming Teo, who moved to Sydney from Malaysia, recalls being teased with "Ching-Chong Chinaman", but writes: "It all seems rather dated these days."
Joyful Strains contains important inside views by "outsiders" in the Lucky Country.
