MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewOur inability to really know Kaur may be due to the details have been lost to time. But another issue is the book’s point of view. Though Kaur had feet in two worlds, Sambuy is planted in one ... While Sambuy includes Indian sources, like Kaur’s daughter, too often Westerners with a tenuous connection to Kaur take center stage ... Ultimately, In Search of Amrit Kaur is about the alchemy of a writer finding her subject ... [Sambuy] is left transformed by the work, finding the personal meaning she sought — while the central subject remains hazy, left for someone with a different lens to bring into sharper focus.
Elizabeth Miki Brina
RaveThe Washington Post... poignant ... The memoir becomes a testament to the importance of their lives as Asian women, as mother and daughter, and an apology for all the years Brina thought otherwise ... strongest when Brina is recounting, with piercing candidness and clarity, the almost claustrophobic world of an only child and her parents — their shifting allegiances, the wounds they inflict on each other and their rocky path toward acceptance, apology and forgiveness. The memoir is also a portrait of the devastating effects of imperialism and racism on a person’s identity, self-worth and relationships—and offers a perspective on how a person can combat these legacies.
