A review by drianturner
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam

4.0

This is the deepest and most literary novel I have read in ages. For this reason alone, many potential readers will be discouraged from reading it. In places it is a beautiful novel: the writing is lyrical, there is a depth of maturity beyond the author's years, and one of the contexts of the book, the violent suppression of Tamil separatism by the Sri Lankan government, is wonderfully told; in others, the book is inaccessible, with long convoluted sentences, self indulgent philosophical reveries and just plain dull. But there is much more of the former than the latter, thankfully, especially as the book progresses, hence the 4. It is a divisive book, no doubt, but the author is clearly an emerging literary talent and, for me, the reader's perseverance is worth the challenge. Even if you think it merits less than a 4, I think the experience will remain with you longer than other books you have read recently.