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vsanghadia's review against another edition
5.0
"Shrink the humanity of your enemy, and the fighting must seem easier, more just, less complicated. Warfare consists of several psychological tricks, not least the ones you play upon yourself."
The author has weaved a telling account of the pre and post war psychologies of various factions involved in the war - Buddhist politicians and militants, pro and anti Tiger supporters, former members of the LTTE, aides of Prabhakaran, members of the Sri Lankan army, Tamil members of the Sri Lankan army, Tamil refugee diaspora in the West, Tamil Muslims, you name it. A chilling read at times, it plants the reader thoroughly in to Sri Lanka, geographically, linguistically, and into the very mind of the people who have perpetrated, been dissenters, been from the right/wrong linguistic and religious group, and their stories. Would highly recommend for an immersive read into how war comes to be and what it does to a population.
The author has weaved a telling account of the pre and post war psychologies of various factions involved in the war - Buddhist politicians and militants, pro and anti Tiger supporters, former members of the LTTE, aides of Prabhakaran, members of the Sri Lankan army, Tamil members of the Sri Lankan army, Tamil refugee diaspora in the West, Tamil Muslims, you name it. A chilling read at times, it plants the reader thoroughly in to Sri Lanka, geographically, linguistically, and into the very mind of the people who have perpetrated, been dissenters, been from the right/wrong linguistic and religious group, and their stories. Would highly recommend for an immersive read into how war comes to be and what it does to a population.
archytas's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I've read a few books on the Sri Lankan civil war now, and what Subramanian does well, he does very well. An outsider to Sri Lanka, able to speak Tamil and English but not Singhalese, he put this book together travelling the country shortly following the war. His capacity to get people to speak to him is exceptional, and in particular, the latter part of the book set in the Vanni, becomes unputdownable reading. Subramanian explores many perspectives in his travels - from Tamil officers in the governing military to Muslims attacked by both the Army and the LTTE, to former LTTE cadre, to northern Tamils hostile to the LTTE, to the family of political dissidents who disappeared, and even a rebel monk or two. The picture he builds is not a simplistic one, but one which traces the many threads of this experience, from the systematic discrimination faced by Tamils, the religious tensions between Buddhism, Hinduism and the country's besieged Muslim minority, the terror tactics of the LTTE and the war crimes of the army. he does this through centering voices of those living through this - not the powerbrokers, but those of people trying to live their best life, do the right thing, and survive.
Subramanian is present in the narrative - I'm not sure you could do this book in any other way. I struggled at times with his relatively strong opinions, especially when it came to the LTTE, which he viewed largely as a cult around a cruel and despotic Prabhakaran. At times, it seemed to me he explained the brutality of the Army as a response to the LTTE (referring, for example, to the mass execution of LTTE prisoners- many of whom were teenagers and/or conscripts as çhemotherapy). At other times, he interjects to disagree with interviewees who speak favourably of the social role of the LTTE, or in one case, even when someone tells him the Army caused them more suffering than the Tigers. To understand the complex dynamics within the LTTE - and perhaps to understand the depth of the Tigers' betrayal - I would look to something like Rohini Mohan's Seasons of Trouble, which follows a variety of Tiger fighters and Vanni residents over a longer period of time.
This focus shifts towards the end of the book when Subramanian details the horrors visited upon the Vanni by the Army and the devastation wrought on the community by the wicked combination of the LTTE's use of the communities they govern as cannon fodder and the genocidal bombing policies of the Army. The result was hundreds of thousands dead, whole communities gone. And Subramanian helps you feel the tangle of emotions of the survivors, as well as the fractured nature of their memories. This is the kind of history that values understanding over certainty, and that is exactly the kind of history that might help us to avoid repeating it.
Subramanian is present in the narrative - I'm not sure you could do this book in any other way. I struggled at times with his relatively strong opinions, especially when it came to the LTTE, which he viewed largely as a cult around a cruel and despotic Prabhakaran. At times, it seemed to me he explained the brutality of the Army as a response to the LTTE (referring, for example, to the mass execution of LTTE prisoners- many of whom were teenagers and/or conscripts as çhemotherapy). At other times, he interjects to disagree with interviewees who speak favourably of the social role of the LTTE, or in one case, even when someone tells him the Army caused them more suffering than the Tigers. To understand the complex dynamics within the LTTE - and perhaps to understand the depth of the Tigers' betrayal - I would look to something like Rohini Mohan's Seasons of Trouble, which follows a variety of Tiger fighters and Vanni residents over a longer period of time.
This focus shifts towards the end of the book when Subramanian details the horrors visited upon the Vanni by the Army and the devastation wrought on the community by the wicked combination of the LTTE's use of the communities they govern as cannon fodder and the genocidal bombing policies of the Army. The result was hundreds of thousands dead, whole communities gone. And Subramanian helps you feel the tangle of emotions of the survivors, as well as the fractured nature of their memories. This is the kind of history that values understanding over certainty, and that is exactly the kind of history that might help us to avoid repeating it.
abhimanyukumta's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
5.0
emma_whitton's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
mikhail_mascarenhas's review against another edition
4.0
'We have beer,' the waiter said. 'Tiger beer and Lion beer.' 'All right, we'll have the Tiger.' Two or three minutes passed. Then the waiter returned and said: 'I'm sorry, sir. The Tiger is all finished. We only have the Lion.'
The author, through his travels to Sri Lanka, documents the horrific instances of violence practiced by both sides during the long Civil war. Stories of abduction, impressment, murder, and terrorism are recounted to him through conversations with ordinary civilians, the people who paid a heavy price.
With painful memories etched in their minds, those who suffered firsthand the consequences of war describe the religious intolerance, deterioration of free speech and human rights, both during and post-war, instances of war crimes by the Sri Lankan army, and the terrorist attacks on Muslims by the LTTE amongst a few other stories.
Overall, the book is a fine piece of journalism and succeeds in reminding the reader of the futility of war.
One is left with the horrible feeling that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose a war - Agatha Christie
The author, through his travels to Sri Lanka, documents the horrific instances of violence practiced by both sides during the long Civil war. Stories of abduction, impressment, murder, and terrorism are recounted to him through conversations with ordinary civilians, the people who paid a heavy price.
With painful memories etched in their minds, those who suffered firsthand the consequences of war describe the religious intolerance, deterioration of free speech and human rights, both during and post-war, instances of war crimes by the Sri Lankan army, and the terrorist attacks on Muslims by the LTTE amongst a few other stories.
Overall, the book is a fine piece of journalism and succeeds in reminding the reader of the futility of war.
One is left with the horrible feeling that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose a war - Agatha Christie
rohan_42's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
kavity85's review against another edition
5.0
Terribly gut wrenching. While the author tries to keep it neutral, giving a third party view on all people affected, it is difficult for me to not take it personally given the proximity of the context. Kudos to the author for his courage and in depth research, in a country that is still smouldering, under the debris of a war gone by.