Digging to America by Ann Tyler.
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On the surface, this is a novel about two very different families thrown together by chance and their mutual decision to adopt a Korean child. But if you dig further, it is a novel about cultural identity and what happens to an individual’s identity when that connection to culture is lost.
The Donaldsons and the Yazdans meet at BWI (Baltimore/
The Donaldsons and the Yazdans meet at BWI (Baltimore/
Washington International Airport); both have adopted a child from Korea and both are meeting that child for the first time. The families are very different: Brad and Bitsy Donaldson are white, upper middle-class; Sami and Ziba Yazdan are Iranian Americans and far from well-to-do. But their new daughters draw them together, and as time goes one, the families become friends – although that friendship is sometimes strained.
Bitsy Donaldson is bound and determined to celebrate and keep her daughter’s oriental heritage alive. She names her Jin-Ho and dresses her in oriental costumes on her anniversary date. The Yazdan’s, who have been assimiliated themselves, are more comfortable letting their daughter, Susan, lose sight of her heritage.
Sami’s mother, Maryam Yazdan is the ambivalent one. She is bound and determined to retain her ties to her Iranian heritage, but this determination has effectively cut her off from friendship, community and love in America. As the two families and their children learn how to manage both heritage and acceptance so, too, Maryam must learn to let her culture not become a barrier to her future happiness. Meg
Bitsy Donaldson is bound and determined to celebrate and keep her daughter’s oriental heritage alive. She names her Jin-Ho and dresses her in oriental costumes on her anniversary date. The Yazdan’s, who have been assimiliated themselves, are more comfortable letting their daughter, Susan, lose sight of her heritage.
Sami’s mother, Maryam Yazdan is the ambivalent one. She is bound and determined to retain her ties to her Iranian heritage, but this determination has effectively cut her off from friendship, community and love in America. As the two families and their children learn how to manage both heritage and acceptance so, too, Maryam must learn to let her culture not become a barrier to her future happiness. Meg
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