Arrival

Nataliya Deleva

From Shelf: Two Fond Showcases

Arrival is an exploration of the ripple effects of domestic abuse. The story follows a young woman fleeing her home country and trying to rebuild her life, after she has suffered violence at the hands of an alcoholic father. Arrival depicts the ways in which we are resilient, capable of carving our own paths and reimagining our lives.

Arrival is an exploration of the ripple effects of domestic abuse. The story follows a young woman fleeing her home country and trying to rebuild her life abroad, after she has suffered violence at the hands of an alcoholic father.

Prompted by her therapist, the unnamed protagonist starts processing the abuse experienced in her childhood while also pondering what it means to be a mother when consumed by trauma. The novel bends form to accommodate the narrator's scattered mind and her attempt to assemble a version of herself through fragments and stitches of memories, borrowed conversations and minutiae that linger and haunt.

Despite grappling with heavy themes - trauma, rejection, cultural identity - the narrative is infused with love and determination and interwoven with folk tales and rituals. It depicts the ways in which we are resilient, capable of carving our own paths and reimagining our lives.