2024-04-16 21:56:14
Small, magnificent, suffering jewel of the Indian Ocean, the island of Sri Lanka was the Ceylon of the English and before, at the time of Sinbad the sailor, the Serendip of the Arabs (among other things it gave rise to the term “serendipity ”, borrowed from ancient Persian, today used to indicate a beautiful thing discovered by chance).
Very interesting books sometimes come from Sri Lanka: for example “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” by Shehan Karunatilakawhich won the Booker Prize in 2022, or, last year, “Northern Passage” by Anuk Arudpragasam, which addresses the classic theme of emigration but also that of the civil war which for a long time pitted the Sinhalese majority against the Tamil minority (which ended with the defeat of the latter and the decline of their claim for a free state in the north of the island) . The name of looms large in the background Michael Ondaatjethe author of the famous “The English Patient”, also winner of the Booker Prize and on which the film of the same name was based, winner of 9 Oscars.
Today, however, we recommend a book published somewhat quietly in Italy in 1999, “The Gardens of Ceylon”, by Shyam Selvadurai (The Assayer, trans. Erica Mannucci, later republished by Net). Second narrative attempt after the debut of “Funny Boy” (1994), which had achieved considerable success, it is a very classic novel in its structure, which deals, like others by this author born in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, in 1965, then naturalized Canadian, very current themes: on the one hand the female condition, on the other homosexual love.
The action of the melodrama takes place in the 20s of the last century. The setting is that of a “good” neighborhood of Colombo, where the local (Tamil) aristocracy lives, who, as in other colonies, prospers thanks to good relations with the British authority. It is here, in Cinnamon Gardens, that Annalukshmi lives, an ambitious and “rebellious” young teacher (in a context where rebellion, for a woman, can simply mean wanting a bicycle). In fact, times are starting to change: the protagonist is not willing to meekly follow the destiny that tradition has assigned to her, and which she inevitably leads towards a good marriage and children. The other protagonist of the novel, Balendram, introduces the theme of “forbidden” love, whose object is Richards, an Englishman she met during her university studies in London, who suddenly reappears in Sri Lanka, bringing disorder but also passion.
In the background, the looming tensions between the different national and religious components of the country, destined to explode in the aftermath of independence.
A book that I would like to recommend, especially to young readers, because, despite its exoticism, it contains elements of reflection that are valid in every place and at every time, regarding the need to live an “authentic” life and the limits imposed by traditions. , but also from the sense of responsibility towards the people we are linked to.
2024-04-16 21:56:14