Bani Basu’s book, The Continents Between (Penguin Random House India), revolves around the story of Sudeep, Kamalika, and their children Swadesh and Aratrika. When Swadesh and Aratrika are still young, Sudeep and Kamalika decide to leave Calcutta (today’s Kolkata) and settle in New York. A few years later, when it becomes difficult for Sudeep to earn a promotion at the university because of his race, they return to Calcutta. Basu narrates how the quartet deal with being thrown into a new environment all over again, having to navigate interactions with extended family and new friendships.

The narrative is energised by its multiple narrators as each carries the story forward without creating dissonance. The multi-vocal narrative from the point of view of the four characters strengthens their development through the story and gives the reader an understanding of how migration isn’t a singular experience. Moving across continents implies moving across cultures alien to each other. It becomes especially strange for Aratrika and Sudeep, to find a balance between assimilation and resistance. What don’t work as well are the sudden switches in the middle of a few chapters into the third person voice from the first person. This choice feels intrusive to the otherwise well-plotted story.