Novels

“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

'Allah shouldn't have revealed so much to the Prophet. It only makes pious people like us suffer.'

So muses Khalid Khan a seventeen year old Afghan boy living in Melbourne. Khalid is like any other boy of his age in Australia; he loves his Footy, his mum's cooking and takes every opportunity to tease his sister Aisha. He believes in Allah although he sometimes wonders whether it is such a good idea to convert everybody in the world to Islam.
The quiet suburban life of Khalid's family is turned upside down one Friday morning when they have an unwelcome visitor. What follows is a hilarious – and poignant – intercultural encounter in multicultural Australia.

'Channa has a wonderful ear for the patois of teenagers. He helped me to empathise with the lives of people, whose religion is intertwined with their culture, and he did it with humour and insight which, given the political tenor of the times we live in, cannot be a bad thing.' - Michael Cooke, Doryanthes

A rags to riches picaresque for a man who gains the world and loses his soul.

Wheeler dealer, blackmailer and black marketer, Sam Kandy is not a very nice person. But he is a hell of a guy. Beggar's Feast is a novel about a man who lives in defiance of fate. Sam Kandy was born in 1889 to low prospects in a Ceylon village and died one hundred years later as the wealthy headman of the same village, a self-made shipping magnate, and father of sixteen, three times married and twice widowed. In four parts, this enthralling novel tells Sam's story from his boyhood-when his parents, convinced by his horoscope that he would be a blight upon the family, abandon him at the gates of a distant temple-through his dramatic escape from the temple and journey across Ceylon to Australia and Singapore, before his bold return to the Ceylon village he once called home. There he tries to win recognition for his success in the world-at any cost.

A novel about family, pride, and ambition, about what it takes for one man to make something out of nothing, set on a gorgeous, troubled island caught between tradition and modernity, "Beggar's Feast" establishes Boyagoda as a major voice in international literature.

'Let us neither over nor under state the case – this is a beautifully written book. It reads like a hot curry balanced against a mango relish' – Hubert O Hearn, Winnipeg Review

'A post-colonial Gatsby Beggars Feast is a picaresque about the clash of the worlds and the revenge of empires, about fate and history and harbours and birthright and brothels and moneylenders and metal-benders' – Mark Jarman , The Globe and Mail

'Boyagoda's narrative voice... is as lush as the tropical landscape of Ceylon, this voice, with its endless sentences, its mad cataloguing of things – a style sinuous, declamatory, periphrastic, peppered with extravagant metaphors and odd phrases' - Philip Marchand, National Post

Longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC prize

Long listed for the Dublin Impac Prize in 2012

A rollicking, racy, fast paced read of a medical intern's first year at the prestigious St Ivanhoe Hospital. Dr Manjula Mendis, first generation immigrant in an unnamed Western country is the hope and salvation of his immigrant parents. His adventures both in the hospital and out of it, his quest for love amidst the plotting and planning of an arranged marriage ensure that this novel will keep the reader either incredulous at the range of medical oddities presented or keep them grinning at the misadventures that seem intent on following our unlikely hero.

Chilli, Chicks & Heart Attacks is a light-hearted rollercoaster read, fluently written, in snappy and colourful language... Sanjaya's strength is in fleshing out his characters – Renuka Sadanandan

Short-listed for the Gratiaen Prize in 2011

Mariam a girl of mixed blood is uprooted from Kandy and transplanted to Sydney to escape the escalating ethnic conflict in the late 1990s. Displaced and disoriented, she fights to find her voice in a society that shows little empathy towards the 'lost in translation'. Her dream is to be an artist but her parents want her to be a doctor. Traumatised by rejection and loneliness, she looks for answers in all the wrong places to find what she has forgotten. Join Mariam in her emotional journey through different cultures numbed by set standards, routine and materialism, as she relates her story of 'coming home' through letters, poetry and sketches to her own daughter Faith.

A very absorbing and touching ... read – Amalshan Gunarathne

A novel that attempts to unify what divides humans – Smriti Daniels

Long Listed for the Dublin Impac Prize 2012

Writing with keen insight into the psyche of the displaced, Channa Wickremesekera, author of Distant Warriors and Walls, brings his characters into the close confines of a boat escaping a conflict zone. Will a series of unfortunate events precipitate disaster on them before nature unleashes a savage storm? Only time will tell as they race inexorably toward their destiny.

'A powerful and disturbing tale of our times in which the historical and the allegorical are combined with consummate skill. Channa Wickremesekera is among the most astute, inventive and courageous of Sri Lankan diasporic writers today' – Suvendrini Perera

'The novel can be read as a counter narrative of the colonial voyage... It is unromantic and unsentimental, even in some of its more tender moments, like that of the child seeking the whereabouts of the kitten she had brought on board or in the more horrifying ones , like the spraying of an 'insubordinate' passenger by the rebel leader, with bullets. A remarkable feature of its textuality is its refusal to produce a 'human' alternative to the political dilemma of nations and nationalities, borders and boundaries' – Sumathy Sivamohan

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 is seared into their soul. 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

WINNER State Literary Award : Best Novel 2015

When Tristan Lorne accidentally summons the demon Appollyon to Earth, he becomes a game-changer in the eternal combat of good against evil. Now unleashed, Appollyon wreaks havoc and destruction under the guise of crime, natural disasters and wars. Those killed by him awaken to find themselves in Olympus, a realm of four islands, ruled by two mysterious elders, who ally with magical creatures and plot to defeat the demon. When a devastating confrontation brings Tristan here, little does he know that his journey of magic, mystery and self discovery is only about to begin. KNIGHTS OF OLYMPUS, the first of the Tristan's Conquest trilogy is a gripping tale that bridges worlds of ancient magic and prophecy, where some are destined by their choices to become either heroes or villains.

The first ever such, Fantasy-Adventure novel by a Sri Lankan Author. A remarkable debut!

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

Living their lie is a story about a man, a woman and a boy whose lives cross each other in unexpected ways.

Together, they are forced to test the limits of friendship, the bonds of marriage and the boundaries of love as they learn with each passing moment that not everything society teaches us is true. Their journey of love and hate begins with an unexpected kiss, leading them to an end that will define who they become.

Turning back, she saw his blurred figure through the lace curtain, an abstract pattern of their intense criss-crossed liaison. He was looking at her. What was he seeing? How isolated we are, she thought, how unconnected...

One late spring morning, Uma awakens to a life in which her relationships – to lover, to husband, to son – seem unbearably tangled. In capturing its searing and intimate moments, the story transcends into a meditation on love and betrayal, grief and redemption.

'The heart-breaking clarity of Chandani Laokugé's writing resonates long after reading Softly, As I Leave You.'
Susan Kurosawa

'Chandani Lokugé writes with unfailing verbal felicity, in the language of the men and women of our time, over the whole range of human communication.'
Ashley Halpé

'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

STRANGE FRUIT is both a love story – and a mesmerizing journey into the heart of darkness that beats deep within this paradise.

As a child, Maya was forced to flee Sri Lanka following the anti-Tamil riots. As a fiercely independent young woman, she returns to explore the country of her birth, when she falls deeply, serendipitously in love with gentle, romantic Malik.

But tragedy strikes when her mother is killed by a terrorist bomb, setting into motion a life-changing chain of events.

From raves on moonlit beaches and secret drag balls on private islands, to encounters with deat squads in forests dense with unspeakable secrets.

 'An ambitious novel of parallel worlds, where recent history makes for difficult choices.' - Romesh Gunasekera, Author Noontide Toll and Reef

'Lovingly chronicles both the beauty and tragedy of Sri Lanka... races to a conflagration of a conclusion.' - Nayomi Munaweera, Author Island of a Thousand Mirrors

 Shortlisted for the Fairway Prize in 2017

One year after the Indian Ocean tsunami

Angela finds herself flying into the devastated region of Banda Aceh as a researcher for the UN. Enthusiastic and committed, the young American woman arrives at a place swarming with aid workers, and she soon enters a world that is nothing like what she has known.

"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?

Longlisted for the Man Asia Literary Prize 2008 and the Dublin IMPAC award 2011

Khadeeja Rasheed has the perfect life in Geneva. A loving family, a fulfilling career, and an adoring boyfriend. When her father is accidentally killed in a bomb blast she returns home to Sri Lanka. There she discovers a secret that threatens to destroy family bonds and reveal complicated threads of love, loyalty, and betrayal. The Moon in the Water brings a young woman's search for recognition and family vividly to life.

In this story of deep desires, identity and passion, Ameena Hussein draws a dramatic portrait of loss, bewildering love and possible forgiveness.

THE MYSTICAL EXPLORER WINS is a book of spiritual awakening.

Born after many years of deep study and daily application, the author Anne de Costa made a conscious decision to change her life by practicing gratitude and forgiveness on a daily basis. By the powerful use of positive affirmations she shows one how to change thinking and speech patterns, bringing about a change of consciousness. This book comes into your hands for you to be able to connect with the spirit within and unlock the spirit of opulence.

A story of friendship, growing up and unrequited love...

"I also got the chance to see him up close. God! He was handsome! He looked like a street kid in school uniform but a bloody hot one."

Shehan has a crush on Robbie, his friend and classmate. Robbie is straight and finds Shehan's affections unsettling. But then, that is all Robbie has going for him in his turbulent life. And when they both realize it, it's already too late.

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.