Comments on: Review: Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera

By: Ash

Ash — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 00:07:22 +0000

In reply to Ash. Oh lord I just realized 'outsiders' sounds horribly offensive and rude in there I am so sorry. If it helps, I didn't mean it in a dismissive way. oh bleep.

By: Ash

Ash — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 23:54:04 +0000

Oh man, I’ve been thinking about this and I can’t think of any historical non fic that is comprehensive and all-encompassing. I know of books that deal with tiny chunks of specific historical periods but they might be too esoteric for outsiders because they’re like micro, microhistories?

I did find this though. It’s a list of fiction, but you might find it interesting? And there’s some more recs in the comments > http://laphantasmagorie.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/literary-guide-to-sri-lanka/

Also, this diary looked interesting and completely the opposite of what you’re asking for because it’s a painful civil war story, but at least it’s not fiction. > https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17972631-war-journey

Welp this was completely useless lol sorry

By: Nish

Nish — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 11:03:55 +0000

I don’t have any book recommendations for you. The Sri Lanka – Tamil conflict is a long and terribly violent story unfortunately 🙁

I get you about how you get sucked into a particular country or issue and before you know it, you are immersed and want to know all about it.

It happened to me last year when I read a book from a Bangladeshi author – a country I never read anything about till last year, and suddenly I ended up reading two very in-depth books about the Bangladesh war of independence. Very satisfying to actually understand the issues, but it was terribly sad at the same time.

By: Vasilly

Vasilly — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:12:40 +0000

That is definitely science. I’ve now found myself wanting to read more Caribbean literature since I read Mr. Loverman last year.

By: Athira

Athira — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 23:43:00 +0000

Sri Lanka is one country I haven’t read yet, despite having access to so much Sri Lankan literature. I guess part of the reason is probably having been exposed to a lot of Sri Lankan news growing up that I never felt much like reading something from that country. But I need to change that. There are so many Sri Lankan books on my must-read list. This one sounds pretty good – I need to check out On Sal Mal Lane too.

By: Amy @ My Friend Amy

Amy @ My Friend Amy — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:44:49 +0000

I remember also being curious about this topic after reading Ru Freeman’s earlier book. I can’t believe how far behind I get on reading. This book sounds nice, sorry I can’t recommend any nonfic for you!

By: aartichapati

aartichapati — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:06:56 +0000

I read a book in college that might fit the bill but now I can’t remember what it was. It was quite informative. Have you read Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje? It is fiction but I thought it was a great way to learn more about the country. Actually, there is a new non-fiction book that I have on my radar, The Seasons of Trouble by Rohini Mohan. But again it’s memoirs not history. So basically, I am giving you exactly what you are not requesting 🙂

By: rivercityreading

rivercityreading — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 12:31:27 +0000

I’ll definitely be checking back to see if you get any recommendations, because I’m interested in the same after reading this. Like you, I think Munaweera definitely has potential and I’ll be excited to see what she writes next, but this one fell just short for me for many of the reasons you mention.

By: nikki @ book punks

nikki @ book punks — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 11:59:18 +0000

“The more you do know about a topic (unless it sucks, like economics)” HA.

Though, alas, I cannot recommend a history of Sri Lanka.