Vyshnavee Wijekumar Vyshnavee Wijekumar i(25154150 works by)
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 Aarti Betigeri (ed.) Growing Up Indian in Australia Vyshnavee Wijekumar , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 6-12 July 2024;

— Review of Growing Up Indian in Australia 2024 anthology autobiography

'Growing Up Indian in Australia is a beautifully curated collection of firsthand stories on the diasporic experience. Edited by Aarti Betigeri, the book features various perspectives that offer nuance to an often-singular mainstream narrative.' (Introduction)

1 Zahra Newman Explores Identity in Malthouse’s The Hate Race Vyshnavee Wijekumar , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 11 March 2024;

— Review of The Hate Race Maxine Beneba Clarke , 2024 single work drama
1 Yen-Rong Wong Me, Her, Us Vyshnavee Wijekumar , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 23-29 September 2023;

— Review of Me‚ Her‚ Us Yen-Rong Wong , 2023 selected work autobiography essay

'The autobiographical debut Me, Her, Us by Yen-Rong Wong – winner of the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer in 2022, and a theatre reviewer for this paper – lays bare the most intimate aspects of her journey to self-discovery. Through a collection of carefully curated essays, she comes to terms with her relationship with sex as well as her identity as a “Chinese-presenting woman”.' (Introduction)   

1 Vidya Madabushi The Days Toppled Over Vyshnavee Wijekumar , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 24-30 June 2023;

— Review of The Days Toppled Over Vidya Madabushi , 2023 single work novel

'The Days Toppled Over is about isolation and bonds forged through non-familial companionship. Vidya Madabushi’s protagonist, Malli, is reticent, as if she were conceived during the restrictions of the pandemic. Her world is confined to the Vanavas Retirement Village in Bangalore, India, where she lives nearby her mother’s friend, Mrs Munshi. She is unable to speak outside her home; only her brother Surya and deceased parents have heard her utter a word. When Surya – who’s studying in Sydney – misses their regular call, Malli gets worried. Fearing the worst, she fights the reclusiveness that has governed her life and heads to Australia in search of him.' (Introduction)   

1 Saman Shad The Matchmaker Vyshnavee Wijekumar , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 11-17 February 2023;

— Review of The Matchmaker Saman Shad , 2023 single work novel

'While The Matchmaker’s title suggests the lead character is a stately woman in her 50s from Mumbai, Saman Shad’s debut novel gives us quite a different picture. Saima is in her 30s and runs a modern matchmaking service for the Pakistani community in Sydney that offers a six-month courtship period to ensure the couple’s compatibility. Her contemporary approach doesn’t appeal to the whole community, which has led to a decline in business and financial precarity. However, her fortunes turn when she meets Khalid.' (Introduction)   

1 Shankari Chandran Song of the Sun God Vyshnavee Wijekumar , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 26 November - 2 December 2022;

— Review of Song of the Sun God Shankari Chandran , 2017 single work novel

'Sri Lanka’s complex story has been told by people as various as rapper and singer M. I. A., playwright S. Shakthidharan and authors Niromi de Soyza, Anuk Arudpragasam and Shehan Karunatilaka. All extrapolate personal and political histories to portray an island nation marred by greed and the struggle for political power – and a population that has dispersed globally as a result.' (Introduction)   

1 Sarah Malik Desi Girl : On Feminism, Race, Faith and Belonging Vyshnavee Wijekumar , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 24-30 September 2022;

— Review of Desi Girl : On Feminism, Race, Faith and Belonging Sarah Malik , 2022 selected work essay autobiography
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