SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2015 The vivid and haunting story of Sri Lanka and its brutal thirty-year civil war, from one of India's best new writers.
Samanth Subramanian studied journalism at Pennsylvania State University and international relations at Columbia University. He has written for, among other publications, the Guardian, the New Yorker, the New York Times, Mint, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Foreign Policy, New Republic, Foreign Affairs, The National and The Hindu. His first book, Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast, was published by Atlantic Books.
A remarkable book by one of India's most talented young writers of
non-fiction... This Divided Island - balanced, observant,
good-natured, discursive and frequently witty - is a searingly
angry and deeply moving portrayal of the agonies of this
conflict... This is a major work, containing oral testimonies from
all sides of the conflict, and will stand as a fine literary
monument against the government's attempt at imposed
forgetfulness.
*Observer*
In this extraordinary book, Subramanian exposes the fallibility of
human beings, forcing us to see how superficial is the veneer of
civilised life. This Divided Island is a book of our times, about
us and about what we are capable of doing to each other.
*Independent*
Excellent... The book leaves us with a tantalising sense of the
ambiguity of peace and victory: of the new and incongruous
conservatism of Sinhalese Buddhism. Subramanian withholds
judgement, but the precision of the final descriptions is
searing.
*Guardian*
Excellent, powerful... Subramanian tells this sorry story with
verve and compassion, relentlessly tracking down survivors of, and
witnesses to, Sri Lanka's agonies
*Literary Review*
Brutal majoritarians and ruthless insurgents have long monopolised
our sense of Sri Lanka. Samanth Subramanian's sensitive account
makes us aware of a missing human dimension. Exploring a
war-ravaged landscape, he is bracingly alert to the role of
ambiguity as well as ideology in human affairs. In This Divided
Island, one of our finest young writers of non-fiction reveals the
complicated lives lived in their shadow.
*Pankaj Mishra*
The powerful human stories in This Divided Island - told lucidly
and vividly - show what Sri Lankans have won and lost
*TLS*
With the humility of a truly gifted writer, Samanth Subramanian
sets out, not to find firm answers to the reasons behind Sri
Lanka's civil war, but rather to be changed and opened up by his
journey through this war-ravaged land. His journey becomes ours.
The things he discovers, the people he meets, haunt us long after
we have closed the pages of this sensitive, poignant book.
*Shyam Selvadurai*
There is only one word to describe this book: it's a masterpiece, a
Book of the Year, even possibly the decade.
*India Today*
A tour de force. Written with journalistic prowess and integrity,
the book succeeds in bringing the war uncomfortably close, so close
you can smell the blood.
*The Hindu*
Like Philip Gourevitch's account of the genocide in Rwanda, We Wish
to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families,
this is a superbly reported book.
*Business Standard*
This is narrative journalism at its most literary, diligently
researched reportage presented with poetry and flair.
*Mint*
The best book on the subject and, what is more, a book different in
kind from nearly all that have appeared this far.
*Tehelka*
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