Books

Skanda, the god of war is known by many names: Kartikeya, Arumugan, Vel – Murugan and most popularly Kataragama Deviyo. He was conceived to end a dispute among semi-divine beings, and having done so, settled down happily in the land of Lanka.

The legends that are linked to the god Kataragama are succinctly retold and beautifully illustrated in this collectible book.

Read an excerpt!

Shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize in 2005; Long listed for the Dublin Impac Prize in 2010

Do you remember when you first fell in love? Do you remember the unrestrained joys and plummeting sorrows of adolescence? Do you remember the confrontation that each new day brought? Enter Kala's life. This sensitive novel about first love and heart break is a complex bitter sweet coming of age story that looks at the modern urban Sri Lankan youth in a new and fresh way. Shehani Gomes navigates us through the perilous and uncharted waters of the young adult, in her exceptionally perceptive debut novel that takes an honest look at a young woman's challenges and triumphs in life.

'If all this outpouring of her creativity found form in a first novel, one hopes for more writing in print from Shehani' – Lakmali Gunwardana

'The book is honest and alive, and its voice, Gomes's voice, is as confident as any young female writer I have read recently...Learning to Fly is more than brave in its formal experimentation. But its strange and, sometimes, difficult structure is not simply an exercise in avant-garde literary practice, but a form that allows the content, the messiness of the protagonist's struggle, to become themselves amidst death and conflict and discrimination, to mirror the novel's setting's own troubled journey towards selfhood' – Vincent Poturica

'Definitely not your average adolescent love story. Shehani Gomes' debut novel- Learning to Fly, having been nominated for the Gratiaen Award of 2005, takes a look into the darker, less explored aspect of adolescence and first love...Shehani's unique writing style complements the way in which characters have been brought to life...She not only grips the reader but makes the reader think, analyze, re-read and analyze again, making her debut novel a very stimulating read- one which brings us to hope for more from her in the very near future' – Tahnee Hopman

The sequel to Milk Rice

A bear with a frightening name, a cat who is a dictator, a water drop that travels the world and a mynah with a wonderful gift...

In the second collection of MILK RICE, we bring you a rich and varied selection of eight wonderfully entertaining stories with illustrations and a marvelous mix of fantasy and imagination. This volume is a real treasure trove of words and stories which amuse and entertain as they immerse children in the world of books. Every tale brings laughter or tears and has a special message about growing up. Perfect for reading alone or aloud and for dipping into time and time again.

Once upon a time, the legendary king Ravana displeased Lord Shiva who unleashed nature's fury on the land of Lanka. To save his land and people, this resourceful king hit upon an ingenious solution. If you have read How the Squirrel got his Stripes, it is time to add to your collection. Immerse yourself in legend and be captivated by the illustrations of this book that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

(Discounted as pages are slightly yellowed)

Uh-oh, here comes trouble in all its shapes and forms.

First, there is the scarecrow who wants to see the world and finds more than he bargained for. Then, there is Frederico who is crazy about cricket but has a small problem to solve before he can play. What about Minnie who dreams of being a spy? And I can't even tell you enough about the blue stone should you find it, or the Blink Fairy or the Chena Cultivator. Oh dear! Don't get me started.

Approved by the Ministry of Education

Read an excerpt!

(Discounted as pages are slightly yellowed)

BAFTA award-winning film maker Asitha Ameresekere brings his extraordinary talents to the page with his startling, thought provoking and tender offering of stories.

Shakespeare has a writing block and Medusa just doesn't like her hairstyle – of course! BAFTA award-winning film maker Asitha Ameresekere brings his extraordinary talents to the page with his startling, thought provoking and tender offering of stories. Incredibly charming and beautifully written with a balance of pathos and humour, Ameresekere shows us that a chance encounter, a hidden revelation, or even an angel could reconfigure the world. Ameresekere reveals the idisocyincrasies and odd logic that rule our lives, making this stunning debut the work of a writer with a spectacularly original and compelling voice.

'Ameresekere's consummate awareness of what makes a good story, his quirky sense of humour, and his ability to supply many points of view in the telling-including that of a dog-disclose a complex literary sensibility that belies his neophyte status as a writer' – Professor S W Perera

'Ameresekere is incomparable to any other Sri Lankan author to be published in recent years. His stories are bound to appeal to local as well as international readers not only because they are set in a wide array of places, but because Ameresekere chooses his narrative style to harmonize with the place and culture he is representing, a trait seldom seen in other contemporary writers. For Sri Lankan fiction fans and short story lovers alike, Wedding Gifts and Other Presents will not fail to entertain, amuse and surprise with its unique entourage of characters humorous twists of fate' – Chalani Ranwala

Read an excerpt!

Shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize

Ameena Hussein's debut collection of stories received critical acclaim as well as an instant following in popular readership. FIFTEEN is a collection of diverse, edgy, punchy stories that explore various aspects life, predominantly from a woman's perspective, grappling with various social, cultural and religious constraints

A woman
The demons of her past
A single, possibly unforgivable crime

In the idyllic hill country of Sri Lanka, a young girl grows up with her loving family; but even in paradise, terror lurks, forcing her and her mother to immigrate to America. Both love and loss fill her life, and though she thrives, her scars haunt her into adulthood making her hold on reality more tenuous. When the past and present collide, she sees no other choice than to commit her unforgivable final act. This is her confession.

Winner of the State Literary Award.
Winner of the the Godage Award.

Read an excerpt!

This is a beguiling tale of three women swept up in the turbulence of an island's history and whose fate is woven intricately together in war, migration, love, exile and belonging.

A few months after the 1983 riots, a Sinhalese family leaves Sri Lanka for America. The two children, Yasodhara and Lanka adapt to their new life quickly but memories of their childhood on a tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean are seared into their souls. Meanwhile, Saraswathi lives in the middle of the war torn country struggling to be a teenager in a land that is anything but normal.

Covering three quarters of a century of Sri Lanka's past, this beautifully written novel combines harsh reality, love and tenderness with astonishing insight.

'Lyrical, heartfelt and awash with imagery: Island of a Thousand Mirrors expresses a deep love of the country and a lingering sadness at what Sri Lanka has done to itself' – Shehan Karunatilaka, author of Chinaman

'Nayomi Munaweera pulls you into this book's big-hearted embrace with fierce, poetic language and striking imagery. The three women at the core of the ambitious, globe-spanning story show us, heart-breakingly, that we are linked by more than nation, more than race, more, even than blood. A dark, beautiful transporting debut' – V. V. Ganeshananthan, author of Love Marriage

'In Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera writes with ferocity, fire and poetry of the incomprehensible madness of civil war and its effects upon those caught within it, whether in the villages and cities of Sri Lanka, or half a world away. A masterful, incendiary debut' – Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander

 Winner of the Commonwealth Prize

'Sri Lanka’s equivalent of the novel Half of a Yellow Sun by the award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie'

Longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC award

Shortlisted for the Fairway Literary Prize

In a time of upheaval, can Nala keep her family together?

The capital city – a little boy watches a monk wrap himself in flames… A village in Jaffna – a little girl is bursting with life…

Nala and Ranjan are on the brink of an exciting future. They will meet, marry and fall in love. They will set up house and have children. They will map out their future together, but destiny has other plans for them. Will they survive?

The SONG OF THE SUN GOD is a deeply moving saga spanning three continents and three generations. Lush physical details and an emotional recounting of events as they relentlessly unfold, reveal a heart-wrenching story of family, love, laughter, sorrow and new beginnings.

Shortlisted for the Fairway Prize, 2018

"There will be no going back, perhaps no going forward. Nothing will ever be the same, each relationship will have to be re-made. It is death- no reason, no compassion, no art."

In his second book, Sam Bunny bravely engages with the problems of asylum-seekers in Australia and compels readers to empathise wholeheartedly with their 'othered' existence. Could the plight of the inhabitants of The Lot be fictitious after all?

SLIGHTLY SHOPSOILED COPIES

Read an excerpt!

Jaffna Boy is the engaging true story of a young boy's life at a Sri Lankan boarding school in the 1970s, as recalled during one fateful train ride - and the advice from an unexpected source that would change the course of his life forever.

A requiem for Sri Vikrama Rajasinha

On 24 Jan 1816, the captured king of Kandy was escorted on board the Cornwallis together with his queens, relatives and servants. Almost a month later, King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha arrives at the Vellore Fort in India, to spend his remaining days in exile. Thus ends the tragic tale of the Doomed King of Lanka.

Using Kadaimpot, vittipot and documents from English servicemen, Gananath Obeysekere reveals a portrait of a king who was much maligned and betrayed by those he trusted. The Doomed King makes for fascinating reading where a master spy, a Machiavellian governor and an opportunistic nobleman together, bring about the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom.

'This book confirms that Obeysekere, probably the most distinguished living anthropologist, remains at the peak of his prodigious scholarly powers.' - Rajeev Bhargava, Professor, CSDS, Delhi

'Essential reading, not only for its accounts of colonial rule in Kandy, but also for providing an example of the long-lasting persistence of historical knowledge that was constructed to justify imperial expansion.' - John Rogers, American Inst of Sri Lankan Studies

Read an excerpt!

“In my childhood, I was known as the boy whose mother had run off with an Englishman”

So begins the story of Myshkin and his mother Gayatri, who is driven to rebel against tradition and follow her artist’s instinct for freedom.

Anuradha Roy’s deeply moving novel tells the story of men and women trapped in a dangerous era uncannily similar to the present. Its scale is matched by its power as a parable of our times.

'This is why you read fiction at all' – Marie Arana, Washington Post

'Roy’s prose does not hit a single wrong note: its restrained beauty sings off the page' – Neel Mukherjee, Time Magazine

The Big Girl & Other Stories is a retro-collection of stories by the talented posthumous author Alagu Subramaniam.

They recount scenes of life in Jaffna more than 50 years ago. The book which had disappeared from circulation has now been updated and reprinted in its entirety.
These stories evocatively capture the ethos of an era now past and will leave you nostalgic for a simpler time.

"Mr Subramaniayam could have had a sound practice at the English Bar, but he preferred to pursue his literary work, which is of a higher order" - Lester Hutchinson, D es L., Former MP (British House of Commons)

"Stories told sardonically and succinctly" - Philip Day, Sunday Times (London)

An examination of the challeges face by Sri Lanka's military forces during the first phase of the conflict with the LTTE.

Starting with the first deployment of the army in Jaffna in 1979, the book follows the army on to its first major military operation in May 1987.
The military's response demonstrated their inadequate training as well as their politcal masters' skewed perception of the conflict, frequently leading to disastrous outcomes. But it was also a period of learning. Despite many bloody setbacks and failures the armed forces gradually learned the rudiments of fighting a guerilla enemy, the culmination of this apprenticeship being the launching of 'Operation Liberation', the first brigade-strength operation carried out by the Sri Lankan army.