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Seasons of Flight
It was and it was not far, where she came from. Some days her birth village felt centuries away, and other days it was too close, she could not get far enough away from it- She lived, now, in America, in a spare, uncluttered flat with a transient feel. Her only memento from home was an ammonite, a lustrous stone the colour of shale, the shape of a lopsided egg. A fossil of marine life from when the himals were below the sea, millennia ago.' Prema, a young woman adrift in war-torn rural Nepal, with little to bind her to her family, village and country, wins a green card in a US government lottery and emigrates to Los Angeles. In this unfamiliar metropolis she struggles to invent a life she can call her own, even as love, and sexual awakening, transform her. There are no constants, or signposts, as she navigates the territory of her new world. But her commitment to Esther, the old woman she is employed to care for, her passionate relationship with Luis, her American lover, and her growing involvement with the endangered El Segundo Blue butterfly, give her a fragile sense of belonging. Lyrical and haunting, and also deeply political, this new novel by the celebrated author of The Tutor of History and Forget Kathmandu confirms her reputation as one of the most original and distinctive literary voices from South Asia.
- GenresFiction
223 pages
First published May 15, 2010
About the author
Manjushree Thapa
22 books91 followersManjushree Thapa is a Nepali writer.
She grew up in Nepal, Canada and the USA. She began to write upon completing her BFA in photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her first book was Mustang Bhot in Fragments (1992). In 2001 she published the novel The Tutor of History, which she had begun as her MFA thesis in the creative writing program at the University of Washington. Her best known book is Forget Kathmandu: An Elegy for Democracy (2005), published just weeks before the royal coup in Nepal on 1 February 2005. The book was shortlisted for the Lettre Ulysses Award in 2006.[3] After the publication of the book, Thapa left the country to write against the coup. In 2007 she published a short story collection, Tilled Earth. In 2009 she published a biography of a Nepali environmentalist: 'A Boy from Siklis: The Life and Times of Chandra Gurung.' The following year she published a novel, 'Seasons of Flight.' In 2011 she published a nonfiction collection, 'The Lives We Have Lost: Essays and Opinions on Nepal.' She has also written as an op-ed contributor to the New York Times.[4][5]
During the fall and winter of 2011, she was writer-in-residence at Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon.
She grew up in Nepal, Canada and the USA. She began to write upon completing her BFA in photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her first book was Mustang Bhot in Fragments (1992). In 2001 she published the novel The Tutor of History, which she had begun as her MFA thesis in the creative writing program at the University of Washington. Her best known book is Forget Kathmandu: An Elegy for Democracy (2005), published just weeks before the royal coup in Nepal on 1 February 2005. The book was shortlisted for the Lettre Ulysses Award in 2006.[3] After the publication of the book, Thapa left the country to write against the coup. In 2007 she published a short story collection, Tilled Earth. In 2009 she published a biography of a Nepali environmentalist: 'A Boy from Siklis: The Life and Times of Chandra Gurung.' The following year she published a novel, 'Seasons of Flight.' In 2011 she published a nonfiction collection, 'The Lives We Have Lost: Essays and Opinions on Nepal.' She has also written as an op-ed contributor to the New York Times.[4][5]
During the fall and winter of 2011, she was writer-in-residence at Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 8, 2021
3.5★, rounded up because although I really liked it, I couldn't say I enjoyed it as much as the author's later novel, All of Us in Our Own Lives, which I read a couple of years ago.
From a childhood of poverty, Prema has progressed (as her father would say). She's become a well-educated and -respected forestry professional, working for an NGO, far away from her birth village. But there's a civil war throwing a dark shadow over life in Nepal at that time, so when Prema hears about the greencard lottery, she thinks "Why not?!"
The thing about that lottery is that some people are successful, and Prema becomes one of them. Before long she has arrived in Los Angeles to begin her new American life. Initially she's sheltered in the embrace of the small, local Nepali expat community, but as she slowly finds her feet she realises she can't see the real America, and literally goes looking for it, taking long bus journeys all over the city in her free time. Although Prema makes lots of changes - new home, new job, new relationships - she still can't find what she's looking for. In time she recognises her own state of limbo; neither fully Nepali any more, and certainly not yet American. With Luis, Prema feels like she could finally arrive in her imagined American life.
It was a good story and gave me what felt like an authentic peek at the immigrant experience. Prema came across as quite an ephemeral character, but in a way that felt quite true to what I understand of her background and the cultural forces at play. Some of the choices she made for herself were not what I wanted for her, but actually they were 'right' for her character. I loved the way the story ended.
My only negative is that I would have liked to spend more time in Nepal with Prema, getting a better understanding of the civil war and other factors influencing her decision to take a chance on that lottery.
From a childhood of poverty, Prema has progressed (as her father would say). She's become a well-educated and -respected forestry professional, working for an NGO, far away from her birth village. But there's a civil war throwing a dark shadow over life in Nepal at that time, so when Prema hears about the greencard lottery, she thinks "Why not?!"
The thing about that lottery is that some people are successful, and Prema becomes one of them. Before long she has arrived in Los Angeles to begin her new American life. Initially she's sheltered in the embrace of the small, local Nepali expat community, but as she slowly finds her feet she realises she can't see the real America, and literally goes looking for it, taking long bus journeys all over the city in her free time. Although Prema makes lots of changes - new home, new job, new relationships - she still can't find what she's looking for. In time she recognises her own state of limbo; neither fully Nepali any more, and certainly not yet American. With Luis, Prema feels like she could finally arrive in her imagined American life.
It was a good story and gave me what felt like an authentic peek at the immigrant experience. Prema came across as quite an ephemeral character, but in a way that felt quite true to what I understand of her background and the cultural forces at play. Some of the choices she made for herself were not what I wanted for her, but actually they were 'right' for her character. I loved the way the story ended.
My only negative is that I would have liked to spend more time in Nepal with Prema, getting a better understanding of the civil war and other factors influencing her decision to take a chance on that lottery.
August 9, 2011
Seasons of Flight for me has been the author's best so far. The story of a village belle from Nepal, struggling to survive in LA, United States after getting a DVlottery. Prema's quest for identity represents those who have been displaced and belong to neither part of the world. Despite having found love interest in a half- American/Guatemalan ,Prema is unsure of her priorities, hence moves on futher following her aspirations treading the zigzag trail life has to offer. As always Ms. Thapa's novels are marked with the political turmoil which is a bit stale to read about time and again. Luis and Prema's conversation are humorous, specially the way he pronounces Go-call (gokul) and Bee-jay (Bijaya) and tries learning the Nepali language. The White people's thirst towards the eastern philosphy, gurus, chants and spirituality is interestingly portrayed. (Though I sensed a little bit of eat,pray,love).. overall a very interesting, light read. Didn't feel like putting the book down even for once.
September 11, 2017
This is the first novel I've read, which is partly set in Nepal, and written by a Nepali author. The novel is about a Nepali young woman who immigrates to the United States after winning the green card lottery. The book is well written overall and the author touched several themes that are of actuality today in the USA:
- the life story of a first generation immigrant to the USA discovering a new country, meeting new people, and working new kind of jobs,
- the relationship between an immigrant and born Americans,
- and the love relationship between an immigrant woman and a born American.
The author captured well the uneasiness an immigrant suffers from being caught between a certain past and an uncertain future and between two different worlds belonging to neither one, but being a little bit from both without denying any one of them.
However, the biggest flaw of this book is that the author didn't write enough about Nepal, its history, its culture, and its customs. It's not every day that a reader comes across a novel set in Nepal and written by a Neplai author. Therefore, I expected at least half of the novel being set in Nepal, but it is actually less than that. Furthermore, the author described quickly and in general terms the main events lived by the central character, but it was not with enough details and descriptions to satisfy my curiosity. After reading this book, I'm still clueless about Nepal, its history, traditions, and culture. The more descriptions about life in Nepal, the more the reader would understand the difficulty of being an immigrant living in the USA and the final desire not to cut ties with family and native country.
This book is good to read if you're:
- a first generation immigrant to learn about what to expect when arriving in the USA,
- the child of an immigrant to learn what your parents went through to immigrate and before your birth,
- an American born reader to try to understand immigrants and their relationships to you,
- any non-American reader who want to learn part of the American way of life .
However, if you're a reader like me curious about Nepal, better luck next time to find a good book about Nepal.
- the life story of a first generation immigrant to the USA discovering a new country, meeting new people, and working new kind of jobs,
- the relationship between an immigrant and born Americans,
- and the love relationship between an immigrant woman and a born American.
The author captured well the uneasiness an immigrant suffers from being caught between a certain past and an uncertain future and between two different worlds belonging to neither one, but being a little bit from both without denying any one of them.
However, the biggest flaw of this book is that the author didn't write enough about Nepal, its history, its culture, and its customs. It's not every day that a reader comes across a novel set in Nepal and written by a Neplai author. Therefore, I expected at least half of the novel being set in Nepal, but it is actually less than that. Furthermore, the author described quickly and in general terms the main events lived by the central character, but it was not with enough details and descriptions to satisfy my curiosity. After reading this book, I'm still clueless about Nepal, its history, traditions, and culture. The more descriptions about life in Nepal, the more the reader would understand the difficulty of being an immigrant living in the USA and the final desire not to cut ties with family and native country.
This book is good to read if you're:
- a first generation immigrant to learn about what to expect when arriving in the USA,
- the child of an immigrant to learn what your parents went through to immigrate and before your birth,
- an American born reader to try to understand immigrants and their relationships to you,
- any non-American reader who want to learn part of the American way of life .
However, if you're a reader like me curious about Nepal, better luck next time to find a good book about Nepal.
June 12, 2014
This book started of really well. I loved the theme of the novel. Prema's journey to America, her mental landscape, her constant battle to be able to accept realities, to give in to being loved.
It's a book I would thoroughly recommend, not one of the stereotypical 'third-world woman' in America, being taken advantage of, or being homesick. Of course she is, but it's not just about that. It's a bold book, which describes her sexual life, her bloody-mindedness and her strong need for independence. The book progressed at a good pace, but it ended quite abruptly, I felt. I would have loved to know a bit more in detail what she gets up to in the end.
It's a book I would thoroughly recommend, not one of the stereotypical 'third-world woman' in America, being taken advantage of, or being homesick. Of course she is, but it's not just about that. It's a bold book, which describes her sexual life, her bloody-mindedness and her strong need for independence. The book progressed at a good pace, but it ended quite abruptly, I felt. I would have loved to know a bit more in detail what she gets up to in the end.
January 19, 2021
Could not quite connect with the book. Prema appears too lacking of feeling, or perhaps too much of it is suppressed. She's just taken off from a crisis. From war in Nepal. She has her uncertainties. Insecurities. But she stays distant not just to the others in her life but to the reader. The indifference perhaps coming out of the circumstances she's been through appears forced. Felt like one of those tales that "tries" to make a protagonist appealing with her indifferences, her unusual choices. Her being difficult and different. Liked the more genuine character of Luis. Not because he was too nice and in some ways a typical American. But he felt real. Even Rajan, the revolutionary in Nepal she leaves behind, the family she stays with in Little Nepal, the roommates and oh yes Esther, the old woman she looks after. But then the novel is set in Prema's world. Everyone else is a visitor.
Enjoyed knowing history bits of Nepal and Guatemala. And Thapa's writing.
Enjoyed knowing history bits of Nepal and Guatemala. And Thapa's writing.
April 21, 2018
Read this in one sitting... I was in Nepal at the time, at a lodge along the Langtang River. This was the only book I kept through our trek, and a handful of the other students I was with read it as well. Good read with nice pacing, the themes are very relatable and at times, eloquently written. Glad to have found this book in a hole in the wall type shop in Kathmandu.
August 14, 2020
**français**
Une histoire sympathique à propos d'une jeune Népalaise qui part construire sa vie en Californie, mais qui reste en quête de son identité. Ça m'a fait plaisir de lire quelques scènes au Népal, mais autrement j'ai trouvé l'histoire un peu plate. Bien mais sans plus.
**english**
A nice story about a young Nepali girl. She leaves her country to built her life in California, but she still search for her identity. It was pleasant to read some part of the book taking place in Nepal, but despites that, I found the story too simple (boring?). Good but not excellent.
Une histoire sympathique à propos d'une jeune Népalaise qui part construire sa vie en Californie, mais qui reste en quête de son identité. Ça m'a fait plaisir de lire quelques scènes au Népal, mais autrement j'ai trouvé l'histoire un peu plate. Bien mais sans plus.
**english**
A nice story about a young Nepali girl. She leaves her country to built her life in California, but she still search for her identity. It was pleasant to read some part of the book taking place in Nepal, but despites that, I found the story too simple (boring?). Good but not excellent.
June 17, 2020
It was indeed a beautiful story where protagonist tried to pursue her American dream in search of better lifestyles to avoid all the insecurities but on the other hand was also repeatedly haunted by the thoughts of her motherland.
December 21, 2017
A comfortable, pleasant read and amusing to see the Nepali perspective on the way 'foreigners' mangle their language and misunderstand cultural cues.
May 25, 2019
The later parts of the book seemed rushed but I liked the ending anyways.
April 12, 2019
This is a beautiful, poetic insight into a person's search for identity, when one feels like it doesn't belong anywhere.
April 16, 2019
Crash course on Nepali literature No. 1.
I kinda wanted to downvote this a bit, but then it almost made me cry. So well..
I kinda wanted to downvote this a bit, but then it almost made me cry. So well..
July 10, 2024
The later parts of the book seemed rushed but I liked the ending anyways.
February 10, 2014
What a coincidence that I read seasons of flight ,during my flight. It was my first time that I read Manjushree Thapa and from the instant I read it I loved he writing.
The story revolves around a common girl and time which takes her from one place to other and the way her thinking changes. The reflections of her grey images are literally awesome.
The story revolves around a common girl and time which takes her from one place to other and the way her thinking changes. The reflections of her grey images are literally awesome.
April 5, 2018
This is the first book by Manjushree Thapa that I read. I found the book to be relatable in many ways- Prema saying 'different-different' and her asking Luis about American references. I appreciated how the book incorporated realities of civil war into the plot. Also, Prema's ambivalent feelings about Nepal and America and her seeming "detachment" from her family was intriguing.
June 26, 2016
Loved the book.
Still, not as much as 'Forget Kathmandu'. But, it is better to not miss this fiction of the author. She has brought the characters alive with her expression and make us fall in love with them.
Still, not as much as 'Forget Kathmandu'. But, it is better to not miss this fiction of the author. She has brought the characters alive with her expression and make us fall in love with them.
November 5, 2012
I think I can narrow it down to discovering one's sense of self? :)
March 15, 2019
Reminiscence of past and dilemma of the future. A story about a girl finding herself in foreign land.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews