Title- Island of a Thousand Mirrors
Author- Nayomi Munaweera
Publisher- Hachette India
Format- Kindle Edition
Pages- 232
Rating- 5/5
Summary- When Sri Lanka gained Independence from British rule in the year 1948, tensions arose between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil population where Tamils faced constant discrimination by the Sinhalese people and the government led by them, which finally resulted in the onset of civil war in the year 1983.
Yashodhara, a Sinhala, lives in Colombo, enjoying her childhood with her sister Lanka and friend Shiva until Sri Lanka is ravaged by war and her family decides to leave the country for a better life in the USA.
Saraswathi, a Tamil, lives in the active war zone and aspires to become a teacher when one day she is kidnapped by Sinhala soldiers which turns her world upside down and transforms her in a way which she never could have imagined.
This book tells the story of these two women and how their lives intertwine in the most unanticipated way.
Review- The author has excellently captured the spirit of Sri Lanka in this book. Starting from the description of its pristine beaches, cuisine, way of life in an urban as well as a rural household, to description of a Srilankan wedding, this book has everything. For such short a book, it is quite skilful of her to give the reader a basic idea of the civil war. I also liked the fact that instead of taking any one side she tells the story from the point of view of both a Sinhala and a Tamil.
Yashodhara, whiles away her time with her sister Lanka and friend Shiva playing childhood games and listening to stories told by their house help Alice, oblivious to the fact that Shiva is different from them, that he is a Tamil until riots break out in Colombo and Shiva's family is forced to escape. Yashodhara's mother convinces her father that Sri Lanka is no more safe and it is better for them to move to the United States. Saraswathi lives in the active war zone with her parents and sister where food has become scarce due to the war and her brothers have lost their lives fighting for the Tigers. They are under the constant threat of death due to the ongoing war. She goes to school and aspires to become a teacher. However, when Sinhala soldiers kidnap her, all her dreams are shattered and she is forced to change herself. Though Yashodhara had the privilege to escape the clutches of war which Saraswathi did not have, still destiny blends their lives together in the most astonishing way.
This book reminds the reader that in a war there is no winner as it does harm to all irrespective of which side they belong to. This is a must read for every bookworm.
0 Comments