By Kaylie Seed
Canadian author Andrea Gunraj published her sophomore novel The Lost Sister in September of 2019. Gunraj has written a heartbreakingly beautiful coming-of-age story about Alisha and her experiences before, during, and after the disappearance of her older sister Diana. During this time, Alisha develops an unlikely friendship with Paula, an older woman who faces her own challenges with her own sister. Gunraj weaves a number of storylines: Alisha’s search to find out what happened to her sister, Alisha figuring out who she is as a person, and in Paula’s story, unraveling family secrets and sharing her story of survival during her time in the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children with her sister Ave. Gunraj uses inspiration and information from Mr. Garnet Smith who provided her with a glimpse into his life having lived in the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children for fourteen years.
Alisha’s parents are immigrants from Guyana who want the best life possible for their two daughters living in Toronto, Canada. Alisha has lived in the shadow of Diana’s successes. Always second best, she never aspired to be better, or something more, until Diana goes missing. Paula’s story reveals her written account of what happened to her and her sister in the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children while they were growing up in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Paula is willing to do anything and everything to protect her baby sister which includes not always telling her the truth. Alisha and Paula are a questionable pair and while Alisha seeks to discover what happened to Diana she also becomes entangled in Paula and Ave’s story.
The Lost Sister not only takes the reader down a dark path in Canada’s history but also points to the continued prejudices that immigrant families face today. While The Lost Sister focuses on some seedier parts in Canada’s history, The Lost Sister also works its way into your heart as Gunraj tells the tale of the bond that sisters share. Gunraj knows how to pull those strings tightly. It is not often that you see a story that focuses on the relationship between sisters. Gunraj has done an exquisite job creating that complex relationship that sisters share and portraying it in two very different storylines. Gunraj has written a story that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. As this is Gunraj’s second novel, it would be lovely to see more work from her in the future. Andrea Gunraj is an up-and-coming Canadian author that readers should keep on their radar.