It is to her considerable credit—and our good fortune—that Sweta Vikram has written a book so appropriate, and relevant for today. Of course, Louisiana Catch is ultimately to be commended because it also achieves what all successful narratives must do: it takes universal themes (loss, grief, identity, resolve) and explores them through characters who are real. More, her heroine, Ahana, is so immediately recognizable and unique, we can’t help but love and cheer for her. Ahana’s relationship with her family and friends (most especially her beloved mother) are at times hilarious, heartbreaking, and always relatable—in all the right ways.
Many writers will—and probably should—latch onto the #metoo movement to open up dialogue, explore historical setbacks, and complicate our sheltered understanding (listen up, men) of why it’s often been a “man’s world.” Indeed, this is a book for women, by a woman, that is nevertheless not only recommended, but necessary for male readers in need of enlightenment (that, by the way, is all of us.)
Louisiana Catch is not a cynical attempt to follow trends; rather it’s a deeply felt and vividly rendered interrogation of the now (which, in its weird and wonderful way, is at once fleeting and infinite). Vikram has written a humane book about actual human beings, and if that’s not something to savor, and celebrate, in a world that’s increasingly sound-bite sized and ephemeral, I don’t know what is.
Check it out. And spread the word!
