Wild Boar in the Cane Field by Anniqua Rana

Wild Boar in the Cane Field is an incredibly tender depiction of people who are, more often than not, relegated to the periphery of society.

The author, Dr. Anniqua Rana, is a Professor of ESL at College of San Mateo and a long-time resident of Redwood City, California. Her dissertation, The Implications of Technology on Women in Higher Education in Pakistan, discussed gender disparities in education in Pakistan and revealed the positive impact of hand held devices providing a sense of security ensuring the possibility of completing education. Her debut novel, Wild Boar in the Cane Field, continues to focus on themes of gender in a patriarchal culture, but in a rural setting. It is also a celebration of the rural women of Pakistan whose indomitable spirit keeps them struggling despite all odds.

Having grown up in Pakistan and worked as an educator in both the US and Pakistan for over thirty years, she is able to reveal the complexity of the Pakistani culture through my novel and articles. Chapters from the novel and articles have been published in Noyo River Review, Delay Fiction, International Education, Listening to the Voices, and Naya Daur TV. A chapter has also been performed through Play on Words at the San Jose Museum of Modern Art and another has been selected to be performed at Lit Crawl, San Francisco this October. She has interviewed Asma Jahangir, Human Right’s Advocate, Pakistan, and published other essays on gender and education. In Spring 2020, she has been invited to participate in the Lahore Literary Festival and the Karachi Adab Festival in Pakistan.

More about the novel:

The protagonist, Tara, is a foundling; a baby girl abandoned on a train. Raised by two mothers in rural Punjab, she struggles to find a sense of belonging and personal happiness. Coming of age in a village rife with superstition, Tara attempts to find the joy and peace of mind she believes she deserves. However, the complicated lives of people in a rural society that is both patriarchal and feudal makes the poor girl’s attempts as futile as flicking away the swarm of flies that have been following her from her birth. All the characters in the story have challenges of their own, and Tara’s journey winds seamlessly through theirs.

While there are no villains or heroes in this novel, unintended events triggered by a decision are sometimes as tragic and intense as any villainous act, and given the meagre opportunities available to this community, their efforts appear even more heroic in context. Bibi Saffiya, her servant Amman Bhaggan with her three sons, and Maria, the daughter of farm laborers, who works for Saffiya, make up the household run by women in a male-dominated society. In addition, there is the village maulvi and his wife who, along with the Sain Makhianwala, make up the support system available to this struggling marginalized community. Ancient belief systems intertwine with more recent religious practices giving the villagers much needed support.

The final section of the book is narrated by the swarm of flies who have been observing the whole series of events. This is a brilliantly conceived strategy to bring the narrative to a close.