A review by yuvraj
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
3.0
this book took me embarrassingly long to finish - it's a story of one man's journey north in a post war sri lanka.
i would say the plot is 10% if the novel. the rest is flashback stories about his life in a divided sri lanka. i wanted to like this more than i did but i wish he wrote it as a collection of short stories rather than create this irrelevant plot to sew flashback scenes in.
but i will say
1. generational tramua is real. so real - and this is the best explanation of its effects on the individual - especially the non white individual
2. the depiction of the relationship between grandmother and grandson was heartbreaking (and the added south asian context made it even harder to read)
i would say the plot is 10% if the novel. the rest is flashback stories about his life in a divided sri lanka. i wanted to like this more than i did but i wish he wrote it as a collection of short stories rather than create this irrelevant plot to sew flashback scenes in.
but i will say
1. generational tramua is real. so real - and this is the best explanation of its effects on the individual - especially the non white individual
2. the depiction of the relationship between grandmother and grandson was heartbreaking (and the added south asian context made it even harder to read)