It’s not every day that a young maths genius comes along. But when Rumi Vasi’s talents are spotted at the tender age of five, her life’s path is immediately dictated by her single-minded father.
It’s Cardiff in the 1980s. Rumi is the daughter of two Indian parents, in the UK following her father’s impressive academic record. Maths, to Rumi, is an escape; a safe haven from the cruelties of the playground, a familiar friend when actual people turn the other way.
Young Maths Genius
Only the regimented routines imposed by her father, himself a man of numbers, begin to constrict Rumi’s life further and further. To learn maths, she must commit; to live up to the expectations placed upon her, she must commit.
Though she accepts on some level her predicament, the outward signs of internal rebellion begin to slither to the surface. As she gets older, she quickly finds that numbers aren’t what they used to be; there are other things in the world to experience. A romanticism of visiting her homeland opens Rumi’s heart and mind to other possibilities in life, but desire is a dirty word to the Vasi family.
Teenage Trouble
Gifted by Nikita Lalwani is a beautifully written book, following Rumi’s life with a stark realism. Though not written in first person, the reader develops a real understanding of how Rumi feels – rather than being explicitly told the minutia of her day-to-day feelings, Lalwani cleverly reflects the internal barriers and levels of conflict within the young girl. This could mistakenly be seen as jarring and lacking in depth, whereas in reality it is a very deliberate construction to help the reader empathise with Rumi’s inner being and her mathematical – yet young, impressionable and yearning to be free – mind.
Lalwani is adept at providing a small window into the life of an Indian family in the 1980s, combining the small details of everyday life with the larger issues that affected families at the time and still do today. She shows the conflict between the ingrained heritage of the family and British culture without dwelling on it, as well as showing the less than glamorous reality of being a child prodigy. A compelling read, it shows the intricacies of teenage dislocation with a voice that is by turns tender, painful and uplifting. This is a first novel with striking depth and quality.
Gifted by Nikita Lalwani is published by Penguin (1 May 2008), RRP £7.99.
Aimee Steen - Aimee has been a published writer since 2008. She's a newly trained journalist with a thirst for knowledge and a passion for ...
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