Artichoke Hearts

Product Information

We have to say what we think of the piece we’ve been given. What I notice first is the tense it’s written in. When I read something in the present tense, I can disappear into it, like I do when I’m painting. It’s as if I don’t exist any more; I just get lost somewhere in there among the characters . . . It’s Jidé with an accent – not Jeed like speed – you say the e in Jidé like the e in Pelé . . . you get me?’ Those of you who have read my book Words That Start With B and its follow up, Love is a Four-Letter Word will understand why I love Artichoke Hearts. Narrator Mira Levenson could be my narrator Clarissa Louise Delaney’s English cousin. Both of them are wry, funny, grown up in some ways, and very young in others. Exactly what I want in my contemporary middle grade fiction.

Sudha Bhuchar is adapting Artichoke Hearts through an enriching co creative experience with children in Years 6 and 7(the same age as Mira and her friends in the book) and is supported by Dramaturg, Carl Miller. Artichoke Hearts explores a truly 21st century British family encompassing South Asian Hindu, Christian, Agnostic & Jewish; a ‘ lived multiculturalism’ with all its complexity &universality-still rarely seen on stage. Being of mixed heritage is UK’s fastest growing demographic and the play will offer diverse audiences a powerful experience of seeing themselves reflected in the work. This R and D phase is funded by Arts Council England & Wandsworth Borough Council and culminates in a sharing for school audiences of the work-in-progress, with a talk by Sita and Sudha at Wimbledon Theatre. This event is hosted by Wimbledon Bookfest. Miss Print starts by asking us our names. She says you have to watch out for writers because they won’t think twice about stealing your name if it’s a good one. She says if you’re going to make up characters in books names are important. Miss Print wants us to call her ‘Pat’, but she doesn’t like her name – it makes her think of a footprint in a cowpat . . . Pat Print . . . now she’s said it, I can see what she means. Apparently, in the village where she grew up, there was a fashion to call girls by boys’ names. She thinks it’s because they were farmers and really they only wanted boys to work the farms, so if you were born a girl they just gave you a name that could be made into a boy’s name anyway. There was a huge variation in characters which I adored. Every character, whether they played a huge part or not, made a really big difference to the story. There were characters that were only mentioned once or twice and they still managed to make my heart hurt. Whether I enjoyed the story or not, an author who can give a character that depth is very talented.Artichoke Hearts covers some hard topics and it's harrowing at points. But what it is, even during those moments when your heart breaks, is a very very beautiful book. Mira is adorable. She's warm, bright, and ridiculously engaging. It's hard to not fall in love with her. If I sound like I'm gushing, I am. It's a brilliantly good coming-of-age novel. There's a level of simplicity to Brahmachari's prose that is refreshing and ridiculously gorgeous. She writes with a very beautiful precision that, when it comes to the more painful moments, the text can do nothing but cut straight through you. She's not afraid about discussing the issues that matter to teenage girls - periods! boys! spots! - and she's able to present these in such a lovely, warm, empathic manner that you can't help but engage with the characters and will them through the darkness. I didn't really like this book; not that it wasn't well-written or anything, it's just...well, let me put it this way: I received it in December, read halfway through, got bored, put it down and have only just finished it. I think it was mainly because I didn't like Mira all that much (at least at first) and I get the feeling that had I read it when I was the same age as Mira it would be one of my favourite, most touching books. But I didn't and it wasn't, although I would strongly recommend it for girls Mira’s age – 10-13 year olds – as they will be going through the same experiences of starting secondary school, having their first period, experiencing their first love (though I really feel she was a bit too young to have a boyfriend and felt uncomfortable reading about snogging between two twelve year olds, even if they acted much older and you often forget that they are only in Year 7).

The main thing about me is whenever I go to say something in class I blush up bright red so that before I’ve even opened my mouth, everyone knows how embarrassed I am, and after that I just clam up and lose the will to live.” What do you think?’ Pat looks to me for an answer. Millie jumps in, like she always does, to save me the embarrassment. We do go on a 'journey' with Mira as she experiences new feelings and goes through a major life event, losing one of the most important people to her, her Nana Josie. We're introduced to a lot of different characters in this book and all of them seem authentic and likeable. I became truly immersed in Mira's world and found myself caring for everyone through their troubles, wishing I could give them a hug! I honestly felt as though I could read a separate book for each character - they all had such substance and history, especially the fantastically intriguing Nana Josie who we get to learn so much about.This book is diverse with many of its characters from Mira and her family who are Indian-Jewish and range from Mira's dark skin and brown hair to Krish's blonde hair and blue eyes. There's also boys in her class who become friends - Ben who is Nigerian/Irish and then Jide who was adopted from Rwanda after the genocide. There was a huge range in the types of people with this book and I really felt like it showed what living in England and particularly near London is like today with multicultural societies. There are so many other little side stories with the secondary characters that, even though subtle, are so heart-wrenching. But I’ll let you find out them yourselves. Ah, Millie! You’re the early bird this morning,’ she chirps, as if keeping the lid on a ready-to-blow pan of popcorn. By the look on Millie’s face, she knows my mum has totally lost the plot. I was super excited to read this book, mainly because the author (being a British born India

Sudha and Carl explored the book and its big themes- first love, grief, family, and friendship with children who are facing the same turning points in their lives as Mira and her contemporaries. The resulting conversations and material from these workshops are informing the adaptation. These encounters affirmed the resonance of this project -as a springboard for schools to explore creativity and difficult conversations with children who have endured remote schooling and isolation for long periods, and for inter-generational audiences to come together and reflect on their own experiences.No, I’m not. I think it’s because she’s not frightened and she’s got everyone around her who loves her.” Somehow it’s not so bad reading out Millie’s line . . . I suppose it’s because I’m not responsible for what it’s saying. What’s all the noise about?’ shouts Dad, appearing at the top of the staircase in a towel, his face smeared in shaving foam. I’m glad you like that one because it’s one of mine. It’s a memoir of the happiest days of my life . . . Ha ha!’

This is a classic "coming of age" book, in which various rites-of-passage are experienced by Mira, the 12 year old protagonist. In a short and intense space of time she gets her first period, has her first real crush on a boy, loses a beloved grandparent and finds her true voice. Told in a first person narrative, we join Mira just as she's about to start attending Literature Club. If that weren't enough to deal with, things are a bit awkward with her best friend, she's getting bullied at school, she's about to have her first period, and her beloved Nana is dying. It is, to put it simply, a fairly difficult time. As the book went on I liked Mira more and more. She was very down to earth, especially with what her character was going through, and her thoughts about her experiences were something every reader should relate to in some way. I loved how realistic the character's reactions to everything were - there were no huge breakdowns and 'how will I live after this' kind of attitude, it was all reasonable reactions that would happen to everyone. In a way, that made it all the more emotional. Does your bell still not work?’ groans Millie, peering round me at the spectacle of Mum dementedly wafting a tea towel at the smoke alarm.

Sita Brahmachari Press Reviews

As she walks out of school, she leaves a trail of dry mud behind her. My May Day Diary Saturday 30 April I can see I’ll have to find something more interesting for you, Ben. We don’t want to bore you senseless. What are you into?’ So imagine my delight when the two sides of Mira merged into one and she remained humble and still a little shy but capable of standing up for herself and finding her own voice. To work with the writer . . . you know, the Spring into Writing project,’ Millie explains to Mum, whose vacant expression doesn’t change. ‘Didn’t you get a letter?’