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A review by vsanghadia
This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War by Samanth Subramanian
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.