Review: `Western Lane' by Chetna Maroo
“Western Lane” by Chetna Maroo, who received the Paris Review's 2022 Plimpton Prize for fiction, is the story of elevenyear-old Gopi. She and her sisters Mona and Khush play squash and badminton twice a week. Their aunt Ranjan says they need more exercise and discipline after their mother passed away. Auntie says they're wild, so they start a routine with rest days between because everything hurts.
They meet Ged, whose mother works in the bar upstairs, and Gopi watches him from the balcony. They can use the courts any time between 7:30 A.M. and 10 P.M. Pa goes up to the bar where people like him and hire him to work on their electrical problems. Pa tells the girls about Jahangir, who won the World Open Championship and played 555 matches without losing one. He is their idol.
Gopi Mona and Khush are very close as sisters and as players on the court. They rally and practice relentlessly. Mona is the one to go with Pa to visit anyone in the hospital or who is sick. Pa makes several visits a day. The girls talk about John McEnroe and how spoiled he is while making a name for himself as he goes on fighting to be the best player ever. At night, Khush goes to the balcony and talks to Ma. Pa probably hears her as his room is next to the balcony.
When their Tanzania cousins come to visit, they take them to the Safari Park to see the lions and drive around the park. On Gopi's seventh birthday, she paints red powder on the line on her part, and Khush wishes her happy birthday but says it's bad luck if you are not a bride. Ma hides her smile of pleasure. Khush covers Gopi's head with a wedding veil.
One day, Pa gets a video from his friend Bala of three hours of Jahangir Khan, and it becomes part of their training. It's as if Jahangir is able to read his opponent's minds; he plays the same game his opponent is playing. The ball flies to the back of the court with the power of long games. Gobi gets ill and must stay in bed for a week. When she returns to school, she falls asleep in class because she'd watched the video until late at night. The three girls are different; Mona is not interested in playing, Khush hits and moves well, and Gopi is the only one improving. She plays with Ged, and he looks at her when she hits a volley drop. They play in winter and every day in Spring. A man, Maquid, says Gopi is tough as a boy, and she and Ged should enter a tournament called Durham and Cleveland. Pa says there is a fee, and the family would have to pay for the drive and lodging if they pass the first day. On the court, she focuses on her backhand as her forehand is already strong. Pa watches as she and Ged drill in the mornings. Pa and Ged's mother stand sharing a cigarette and talking.
Mona and Khush watch them closely because they think it's dangerous that Gopi, a black girl, is playing with a white boy and sweating together. Ged's mother is nice and always says hello, but Mona disapproves and talks about the price of Pa's Camel cigarettes, which cost a lot. Pa works less and skips appointments, and Gopi is tired from a lack of food. When she sprains her ankle, Ged makes sure he places the ball lightly. Gopi makes and applies a turmeric paste and puts a package of frozen peas on it. The next time the sprain is worse, Gopi stays home from school. After three weeks, Gopi dreams of Western Lane and does exercises on one foot carefully. Pa is tired, and Mona does all the housework. Mona decides to get a job and goes to work two days a week. Because the manager sees how clever she is with money, he gives her bookkeeping to do, and soon, she's doing it for other businesses, too. Mona asks Gopi if she wants a new racket, and Gopi says yes. They go to London. Maquid tells them which store to go to where there are many rackets. She knows as soon as she swings it which is the right one for her. It's all silver with a teardrop head; it's the one for her.
Later, at the fair, their group stays together and goes on the rides; Mona and Shean pour whiskey into the Coke bottles. Ged steadies Gopi when she gets off the twister, dizzy. Mona likes Shean but doesn't want Aunt Ranjan telling Pa she's going with a Pakistani boy. Author Maroo weaves family love and the challenges of the sport together. One day, Pa and Gopi play together. Long rallies follow one another, and Pa gives her no time to think. Gopi has her whole body behind her racket, and the ball hits Pa's jawbone with a sharp crack. Ged's mother puts ice on it, and Pa says he's just fine, though his face is swollen and he can't move his jaw. Ged's mother doesn't want Gopi to play Ged, though she knows the hit wasn't deliberate. Pa's face is yellow with bruises. One day, Pa asks Gopi if she'd like to go live with Uncle Pavan and Aunt Ranyan in Edinburgh. She'd still be his girl, and she knows that. Aunt Ranyan teaches Mona how to make pani puries, and author Maroo gives us the recipe to entice us. Khush tells Gopi she doesn't have to go, though Uncle Pavan says her mother liked the mountains there.
Preparing for the tournament, Gopi practices with Uncle Pavan. His strong points are his touch and knowing where the ball is going. He plays a soft, accurate game. The next day, Gopi is scheduled to play on court two. Pa and Uncle Pavan are in the viewing gallery. Gopi's opponent is the older sister Maria. Her sister is Alexandria. Maria takes the lead from the beginning but then crashes into Gopi and apologizes. Ged and Shawn play and win their first two matches, and they all play in the semi-finals. The next day, Gobi's opponent wants a fast game, but Gopi surprises and wrong-foots her. Ged lost his semi-final match.
Maquid says the important thing is being here, but Gopi knows Alexandria will beat her with her mysterious rhythm. Pa and Uncle Pavan watch tensely. The game goes for over forty minutes, and Gopi hits a last controlled drop ball, and Alexandria stops. Everyone stands up and shouts. Who won the match, and what meaning does it have for Gopi? Do Gopi and Ged get together afterward? Author Maroo has created a fine story of sports, love, and friendship. What more is there? Find this interesting novel on the new fiction shelf of your local library.