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A review by sandaru
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A lot to say about this book. First of all the author Anuk is a friend of my husband and he is also a Sri Lankan. so this book speaks a little close to my heart. The book is mostly written around the memories of the main character Krishan in fragments and in lengthy descriptions of the smallest details and its psychologies. There are accountable descriptions of the smallest not so-important details within topic like war, Tamil funeral ceremonies, bereavement and grief. And also about relationships with other characters. I loved how Krishan describes his grandmother's condition, the funeral of Rani (the caretaker of his grandmother). He once mentions how after a human dies the process of letting go is done gradually, stage by state. First the funeral body then we reduce it to ashes and that also after a while we reduce to a photograph of the dead.
Being shortlisted for the Booker prize 2021, a lot of book critics spoke about how lengthy the sentences are, which is true. Sometimes one sentence would start from one page and the same one ends in the next page. This is something I would actually be bothered usually. However, the prose language Anuk used did not bore me except for the parts he spoke about the main character's brief relationship with Anjum, a hippie, bi-sexual girl he met in India. The rest of the lengthy paragraphs were very much interesting to me as they explored more of a psychological aspect than metaphysical subjects.
Also this year I shall be very critical and strict the way I give star reviews to a book. This did not fall into 5 star category only because of the brief part about his relationship that I was not interested in. Other than that this is an awesome book for me to start 2022.
Being shortlisted for the Booker prize 2021, a lot of book critics spoke about how lengthy the sentences are, which is true. Sometimes one sentence would start from one page and the same one ends in the next page. This is something I would actually be bothered usually. However, the prose language Anuk used did not bore me except for the parts he spoke about the main character's brief relationship with Anjum, a hippie, bi-sexual girl he met in India. The rest of the lengthy paragraphs were very much interesting to me as they explored more of a psychological aspect than metaphysical subjects.
Also this year I shall be very critical and strict the way I give star reviews to a book. This did not fall into 5 star category only because of the brief part about his relationship that I was not interested in. Other than that this is an awesome book for me to start 2022.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts