Unveiling Cultural Identities and Self Savouring in Preethi Nair’s One Hundred Shades of White and Sarah Addison Allen’s The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Abstract

Literature often deals with the notion of self-discovery. Self-realisation is the pinnacle of the inner journey that characters undergo in literature. Different individuals experience it at various stages; some in their adolescence, some in middle life, while others in their later years. Savouring is the act of taking pleasure in and appreciating something, frequently food but also other pursuits like music, nature, and relationships. The ability to savour something correlates with enhanced happiness, health, and contentment in life. Savouring serves as a method of introspection. Discovering oneself, one's ideals, and what provides delight and purpose in life aid in cherishing unique and varied experiences. Thus, this paper attempts to provide a comparative study of two novels, One Hundred Shades of White by Preethi Nair and The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen, in which the female protagonists try to savour their self-discovery through various means, namely food, culture, and identity.