Families new to Canada often experience a disconnect between generations. Parents raised in another country may have difficulties raising their children in a place so unlike their home. Conversely, their children may feel alienated by parents who don’t understand their lives. People who have experienced this disconnect, as well as those who are curious about the lives of immigrants in Canada, may be interested in reading Trifles, a 2010 novel about the trials and tribulations of immigrating to our multicultural society.
The book was written by Kuir Garang, a Sudanese Canadian author, poet and musician. Garang treats readers to a riveting look at parenting in multicultural Canada from the standpoint of someone who has worked as an in-school settlement worker in Calgary.
Trifles features two main characters, 10-year-olds Adut and Angelina, a duo that Garang describes as having a friendship which defies “sanity, reality.”
Angelina is a daughter of European Canadians, Oliver and Jacqueline. Adut’s parents are South Sudanese Canadians, Ayen and Kuot.
Although Canada is known for embracing multiculturalism, Garang describes a common situation — people from similar backgrounds clinging to each other. Anyone who goes beyond this comfort zone to befriend people from different racial backgrounds can sometimes be ostracized by peers. Because of their relationship, Angelina and Adut have been branded as outcasts for making friends with people outside of their respective communities.
Despite the close bond between Adut and Angelina, their parents refuse to accept their unconventional friendship. A father of a four-year-old daughter himself, Garang has a knack for writing dialogue between parents and their children. The conflicts between Angelina and her parents feel very real and deeply personal, and allow the reader to identify with both sides of the dispute. The issues presented have no easy resolution, just like problems faced by real families.
Anyone who has experienced life as an immigrant in Canada can truly connect with Trifles. Does multiculturalism exist only in theory? Garang explores this question. Multiculturalism is an idea discussed at dinner tables and instilled in children as they grow up to understand and respect people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This level of multiculturalism seems to be absent in many communities in Canada, as shown in Trifles.
A European Canadian friend once told me that his mom swore to kill herself if he brought home a non-European girlfriend. I was given similar instructions when I moved to Canada — to marry inside my own community. Trifles brought to light real-life experiences that immigrants face every day.
Garang wants his readers to learn that multiculturalism isn’t only about the food we eat or the clothes we wear — it is more about how we understand and relate to each other. As Adut says, “you can only know the best of people if you come close to them.” Garang shows us that parenting in a multicultural society should be about teaching children to learn from each other and embrace other cultures.
Although it is set in Canada, the lessons learned in Trifles can be applied anywhere. The novel is literature, philosophy and reality. It is perfect for people who want to better understand the nature of multiculturalism and want to help improve it for future generations.