Island of a Thousand Mirrors Paperback – Illustrated, 5 Jan. 2016

Yasodhara leads a carefree life in Colombo with her parents and her little sister Lanka, till one day she has to leave because the island that she calls home is ravaged by a civil war between the Sinhalese and Tamilians. She starts an initially difficult, but eventually comfortable, life in the foreign shores of Los Angeles with her parents and her sister, Lanka. While she grows up to be the “ideal immigrant daughter” with a graduate degree and an arranged marriage; Lanka is the one with the rebellious streak. Back in the homeland Saraswathie is caught heart of the war zone; having already lost her brothers to the cause. She wants to be a teacher, until a horrific incident propels her to the frontline. Years after migrating to the States, when Lanka, who ironically is named after her native island and the land of the demon king Ravan, follows the call of her wild, wandering heart back to the homeland, Yasodhara follows her. It is here that the sisters’ and Saraswathie’s paths meet in a catastrophic way; symbolic of the strife that has plagued the “pearl island”.Munaweera’s writing is heartbreakingly beautiful. I really love the way she portrays emotions, not matter how banal or how extreme they are. Be it the mundane banter of quarreling extended families or the extreme hatred of Tamil rebels, she aces all the manifestations. Without giving away too much, there is a section of prose where she talks of consumption of cyanide, and I feel that was the most bone chilling piece of writing I have read in a while. In describing the process, she builds a climax in just a few lines and while you know what the end would be, but still have your heart in the mouth at the end of it.It’s an unfortunate truth that battlegrounds often provide the best set ups for great stories. I knew about the Sri Lankan conflict, having come from a nation that lost a Prime Minister to this madness, but Munaweera puts a human face to the conflict. I like how the writer didn’t try to take sides. She rightly pointed out that while people often want black and white answers, but it is mostly not possible. In wars, often there are no victors. In wars were both sides have corrupt motivations, there definitely aren’t.

Good read.

I loved the writing of this book. Every sentence was beautifully crafted and the descriptions of things and places were beautiful and poetic despite the heavy subjects it deals with such as war, racial intolerance and separation.

Really enjoyed reading this book before I went to Sri Lanka on holiday. It gave me some insight into into their lives and the horrendous war even though it is a novel.

The Civil War between the Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka is vividly brought to life in this atmospheric and moving novel which views the conflict through the experiences of two families. For me it brought the war to life in a way that very few non-fiction accounts have as we see how the terrible effects of the conflict impacted on individuals. It’s an often brutal story, especially when describing the Tamil Tigers, but overall the book provides a memorable insight into what motivated both sides. On one level it’s a family saga, but it tackles themes of displacement, emigration and divided loyalties as well very effectively indeed and all the elements combine to make this a compelling and, in spite of the horror and violence, a gripping and illuminating read.

I really enjoyed this book because even if is fiction it really helped me understand better what happen on the island and why the historical civil war

Read this whilst traveling in Sri Lanka. Extremely well written. The characters felt very real making the historical context even more shocking

A wonderful book, very well written, it was gripping throughout. Thoroughly recommended and a real insight into life in Sri Lanka during their heartbreaking troubles