The Routledge Companion to Sinhala Fiction from Post-War Sri Lanka: Resistance and Reconfiguration

by Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayake (Editor), Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayake (Translator)

Overview

This companion presents a critical collection of Sinhala resistance literature from Sri Lanka. It includes translated short stories and excerpts from Sinhala novels, written after the civil war in the country. Featuring national award-winning writers, the selected texts share a common theme of resistance as the writers write against an exclusivist nationalism that was propagated through mass media and platforms of party politics in Sri Lanka during the war.

The volume addresses crucial issues such as the fate of civilians in war, the role of religion in Sri Lankan polity, media censorship, the experience of women in war, as well as the current education system and youth problems in present day Sri Lanka. It highlights an alternate discourse that runs among the ethnic Sinhala group and contributes to the overall movement towards peace and reconciliation among the different ethnic communities in Sri Lanka.

A unique addition to the growing oeuvre of translated Sinhala literature, the companion will be indispensable to students, scholars, and researchers of ethnic studies, war and peace studies, peace and conflict studies, literature, cultural studies, political sociology, and South Asian studies, particularly those interested in Sri Lankan literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367554682
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/27/2022
Pages:	428
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayake is a fiction writer in English and a translator. She has written three collections of short stories and one novel, winning three national literary awards – one each for her novel, a short story collection, and a translation. She has also written books on language teaching and stories for children. Her doctorate is from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, on post-war Sri Lankan fiction in Sinhala and English. As a Fulbright scholar, she received an MA from New York University in English and American literature with a focus on creative writing. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Table of Contents

Part I: Tamil problems

1.      The Heart that Bears (2018)

Kathyana Amarasinghe            

 

2.      Father (excerpt) (2013)

Nissanka Wijemanne                

  

3.      Are you alright? (2011)

Jayatilaka Kammallaweera     

 

4.         Radha on the Beach (2014)

Piyal Kariyawasam 

         

Part II: Land/Environment

5.      The Rape of Singing Mountain (excerpt) (2018)

Tennyson Perera                      

              

6.      Fire at Amazon (2019) 

Eric Illiyapparachchi                                        

 

Part III: Sinhala Muslim tension

7.      The Muslim Reverend (2018)  

Nissanka Wijemanne    

8.      The Bhikshu Ward (2019)                    

Eric Illiyapparachchi                            

 

9.      Love (excerpt) (2016)              

Nissanka Wijemanne                                        

 

Part IV: Women in conflict

10.  Come and tell your story out loud and discover a new one (2014)                 

Kumari Kumaragamage

                          

11.  Only a Name (2014)                 

Kumari Kumaragamage          

              

12.  Sisters (excerpt) (2014)                        

Kaushalya Kumarasinghe        

              

13.  The Old House (2017)  

Sunethra Rajakarunanayke                              

 

Part V: Economy

14.     Treasure Hunters (excerpt)     (2015) 

Liyanage Amarakeerthi                     

           

15.    The Black Hole (2012)           

Keerthi Welisarage                                         

 

Part VI: Religion

16.  The Dragon Arch (2016)                      

Prabhath Jayasinghe    

              

17.  The King, The Pageant and the Grape Juice (excerpt) (2014)

Reverend Batuwangala Rahula

  

18.  Sons Born of the Snake Stone (excerpt) (2011)           

Reverend Batuwangala Rahula            

 

19.  Glimpses into Intrigues Past: Monks, Nobles, Children, Servants, and Tribes.

 (excerpt) (2009)           

Sunethra Rajakarunayake                                

 

Part VII: Media and censorship

20.  The Only Son (2017)                

Liyanage Amarakeerthi

              

21.  Did silver bullets strike your heart, the second time around (2014)                

Piyal Kariyawasam      

                                      

22.  The Commander of the Yakshas (excerpt) (2019)

Kaushalya Kumarasinghe                                

 

Part VIII: Militarization

23.  Two Friends (excerpt) (2013)                          

Sunethra Rajakarunanayake                            

 

24.  Deer-Slayer Salaman (2009)    

Nissanka Wijemanne                                        

 

Part IX: Corruption

25.  Some Scenes from an Off-track Train (2013)                          

Prabhath Jayasinghe                                        

 

26.  The New Vehicle (excerpt) (2008)                  

Reverend Batuwangala Rahula   

 

Part X: Alienation

27.     The Death of the Magistrate’s Wife (excerpt) (2009)  

Piyal Kariyawasam                                          

 

28.      Five Years (2010)        

Ajit Tilakasena