Scan barcode
A review by clarereadstheworld
On Sal Mal Lane by Ru Freeman
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wow, this book is just wow; first book of the year finished, second book in a row to make me cry and a breathtaking narrative, wonderfully crafted.
The story focuses on events leading up to the outbreak of civil war in Sri-Lanka in July 1983, a war which would last over 25 years, and claim over 100,000 lives, displacing more than 800,000 at it's peak in 2001.
Things all start quite slowly and calmly. On the peaceful Sal Mal lane in 1979, the Hearth family with four children, Suren, Rashmi, Nihil and Devi have just moved into a new house. The children quickly make friends (and enemies) with the other children on the street, and the usual childhood rivalries, jealousies and triumphs play out. The children gorw up, pass exams, fail exams, play sports, learn new instruments, and disobey their parents. Little by little the children begin to hear rumours about the Tamil Tigers, divisions in the population, and a coming war. At first easy to ignore, these whispers start to grow louder and louder until the children can not fail to pay attention and feel the repercussions.
What I both loved and found terrifying in this book is the way Ru Freeman shows how easily one group can be turned against another group. On Sal Mal Lane the two groups are the Tamils and the Sinhalese, the two main ethnic groups in Sri-Lanka, but they could be any two waring ethnic groups historically or currently. The process of 'othering' an ethnic group portrayed was scarily well done.
Although there are notes of foreboding from the first page, and it is clear fron very early on that there isn't going to be a happy ending, nothing could have prepared me for the last chapters. Reading this book felt a bit like pushing my self off downhill on a bike, it started slowly, gradually getting faster, until the inevitable crash landing at the bottom which I knew was coming, but still wasn't prepared for. I'm definitely going to miss the Hearth children now I've finished. Does anyone else miss characters when you finish a book?
The story focuses on events leading up to the outbreak of civil war in Sri-Lanka in July 1983, a war which would last over 25 years, and claim over 100,000 lives, displacing more than 800,000 at it's peak in 2001.
Things all start quite slowly and calmly. On the peaceful Sal Mal lane in 1979, the Hearth family with four children, Suren, Rashmi, Nihil and Devi have just moved into a new house. The children quickly make friends (and enemies) with the other children on the street, and the usual childhood rivalries, jealousies and triumphs play out. The children gorw up, pass exams, fail exams, play sports, learn new instruments, and disobey their parents. Little by little the children begin to hear rumours about the Tamil Tigers, divisions in the population, and a coming war. At first easy to ignore, these whispers start to grow louder and louder until the children can not fail to pay attention and feel the repercussions.
What I both loved and found terrifying in this book is the way Ru Freeman shows how easily one group can be turned against another group. On Sal Mal Lane the two groups are the Tamils and the Sinhalese, the two main ethnic groups in Sri-Lanka, but they could be any two waring ethnic groups historically or currently. The process of 'othering' an ethnic group portrayed was scarily well done.
Although there are notes of foreboding from the first page, and it is clear fron very early on that there isn't going to be a happy ending, nothing could have prepared me for the last chapters. Reading this book felt a bit like pushing my self off downhill on a bike, it started slowly, gradually getting faster, until the inevitable crash landing at the bottom which I knew was coming, but still wasn't prepared for. I'm definitely going to miss the Hearth children now I've finished. Does anyone else miss characters when you finish a book?