The prologue was appreciated MORE after the book was finished. malĭid your reading of the Prologue change after you finished reading the book? Beth350ĭid the familial term Thatha (grandfather) contribute to your understanding of the family in Los Angeles?įamiliar with the term from previous cultural reads. I collect cookbooks and have many that feature foods from other areas. Yes, every time I read a book that has characters who eat foods from different countries (or even different parts of the US) I am intrigued. malĭid the book make you interested in finding out more about Sri Lankan cuisine? Seems to be more a family issue requiring dialog.

I do believe there was a fine line between continuing their cultural expectations and being 'more' American. I don't believe their transition could have been easier. malĬould Yasodhara's transition from life in Sri Lanka to California have been made easier? Her family urged her, unbeknownst how deeply wounded she was, so very heartbreaking. Innocence stolen, culturally shunned, she virtually delivered to the revolutionaries. Here are some of the comments posted about Island of a Thousand Mirrors. Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers! Narrated in two unforgettably authentic voices and spanning the entirety of the decades-long civil war, it offers an unparalleled portrait of a beautiful land during its most difficult moment by a spellbinding new literary talent who promises tremendous things to come. In the tradition of Michael Ondatjee's Anil's Ghost and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, Island of a Thousand Mirrors is an emotionally resonant saga of cultural heritage, heartbreaking conflict and deep family bonds. But her dreams for the future are abruptly stamped out when she is arrested by a group of Sinhala soldiers and pulled into the very heart of the conflict that she has tried so hard to avoid a conflict that, eventually, will connect her and Yasodhara in unexpected ways. Saraswathie is living in the active war zone of Sri Lanka, and hopes to become a teacher. But Yasodhara's life has already become intertwined with a young Tamil girl's Yasodhara's family escapes to Los Angeles. As a child in idyllic Colombo, Yasodhara's and her siblings' lives are shaped by social hierarchies, their parents' ambitions, teenage love and, subtly, the differences between the Tamil and Sinhala peoplebut this peace is shattered by the tragedies of war. Yasodhara tells the story of her own Sinhala family, rich in love, with everything they could ask for. A stunning literary debut of two young women on opposing sides of the devastating Sri Lankan Civil Warwinner of the Commonwealth Book Prize for Asia, longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prizeīefore violence tore apart the tapestry of Sri Lanka and turned its pristine beaches red, there were two families.

Island of 1000 mirrors