The ethnic clashes of 1980s Sri Lanka are violent and totally divisive. Medical student Sashi's family loyalties are challenged in a heartbreaking way as she loses two brothers and a dear friend. I felt shock but also a deep empathy with these characters whose suffering is unimaginable. This is terrific writing and powerful storytelling.
We were civilians first. You must understand: that word, terrorist, is too simple for the history we have lived - too simple for me, too simple even for this man. How could one word be enough? But I am going to say it anyway, because it is the language you know, and it will help you to understand who we were, what we were called, and who we have truly become.
