Krysta Belcourt
Primrose Madayag Knazan, Lessons in Fusion.
Winnipeg: Great Plains Publications, 2021. $14.95.
In her debut novel, Lessons in Fusion, Primrose Madayag Knazan tackles topics of racism, isolation, culture, diversity, and technology in a way that is so contemporary and relevant that it could easily be taken for non-fiction.
Knazan sets the scene for a world that is at once all-too familiar to readers. From Zoom meetings to online classes, from lockdowns to isolation, the world that Knazan constructs is the one we all currently live in. In this world, the conditions of a pandemic resulted in the creation of a virtual cooking competition where contestants, judges, and producers are all participating from their own homes using pre-recorded videos and video conferences. Recipes are posted the same day to the show’s website and ingredients can be ordered for each one with the click of a button so that viewers can try the recipes for themselves.
Do you remember that time at the beginning of the pandemic when everyone and their mom was making bread? Yeah, me too. It is these small, culturally relevant details that spark familiarity in the readers’ minds and invite them to become a part of the world in which the main character, sixteen-year-old Sarah (pronounced SAH-rah), resides. In fact, this intrinsic interest in baking and trying new recipes, that wormed its way into most people’s lives during the pandemic, forms the foundation of this book. At the beginning of every chapter, readers are graced with a recipe for one of Sarah’s own fusion creations to try at home, each one lending some insight into her family background and merging the themes of culture and food. In Chapter Two, Sarah introduces us to the Sweet Potato Latkes that won her a place in the show Cyber Chef:
I made latkes, or potato pancakes, with my baba every Chanukah, sometimes for Shabbat dinner, and sometimes for a Sunday brunch. When I suggested we start making them with sweet potatoes instead of russets, we started experimenting with Indian spices.
While reading, I found myself subconsciously taking mental note of all the recipes and which ingredients I had stored away in my cupboards, eager to try them out for myself. It is easy to see the influence of Knazan’s background as a food writer woven throughout the novel, lending authenticity to every dish.
Knazan maintains this authenticity within the novel’s other themes as well by crafting obstacles that are an extension of realistic events. The topic of diversity and the struggle for cultural representation is woven all throughout the novel, underscored by the message of what can happen when that fight for diversity is approached with shallow means. This theme is embodied in the use of Sarah’s name. When the first episode of Cyber Chef airs and everyone has pronounced her name wrong, Sarah is rightfully upset. But when she brings it up, she doesn’t get the response that she had expected:
She should be happy she’s on TV. She has a chance to win a bunch of money and prizes and get a shit-ton of hits on her blog. That equals money too. She can help out her family and get her fifteen minutes of fame. If she has a problem with how we say her name, you can tell her to get over it. If she gets pissed off and corrects the host or one of the judges on how they pronounce her name, you can bet that she is done.
The display of careless and forced diversity within the show is built upon as Sarah progresses into each episode until things crescendo and implode. Similarly, when Sarah has come to the end of her journey and has fully embraced her fusion heritage for the final episode, everyone begins to pronounce her name correctly as things beautifully culminate in a lesson that everyone, regardless of who they are, can learn from.
This story was a wonderful journey, filled with cultural exploration, developing relationships, and clever realism—brought together through the sharing of good food.
KRYSTA BELCOURT
is the Editorial Intern for The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing. She currently resides in Muskoka, living the small-town, cottage country life and using all of her free time to read as many books as she can. She is currently working towards her degree in the Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College in Mississauga.