Simple Recipes

“Though I ripple tiny circles around with my fingers, the fish stays still bobbing side to side in the cold water.”

It has been established that the fish in the sink stands in as a visual symbol of immigration. In this quote, the narrator, who is a second-generation daughter, attempts to change the fate of the fish but can’t in spite of her intrusion. For her, no matter what she says or does, the trauma and altering forces of immigration will remain. Its impact on her life and her family’s lives is unflappable, not given over to being erased from her life. Immigration in a family dynamic is as stalwart as the fish that continues to bounce in the cold water.

“While I was born into the persistence of Vancouver rain, my father was born in the wash of a monsoon country.”

The meaning of this quote is in the two words “persistent” and “wash.” The second-generation daughter is a constant force to be reckoned with. She is part of the culture that her parents adopted. Her life as a Canadian is resolved and tenacious. There is nothing ambiguous about it. Except for her father, a first- generation immigrant who, as the quote suggests, has shallow roots capable of being moved or swept away. The daughter’s identity is understood, certain, but the father’s is malleable and confused by the act of immigration.