Scan barcode
A review by byronic_reader
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
4.0
A Passage North by Anik Arudpragasam
Memory is a trickster. Just when you think that it's gone, a smell, a smile or a song will induce that deepest part of it you think you forgot. When you are grieving, this memory is taunting. It taunts you with what-ifs and what not scenarios. You go through the motion as if you are an outsider to your feelings. When it comes to a breakpoint, the feelings that are at bay will engulf you as a whole. This is where you go numb. Where you don't feel pain and don't care whatever happens to you.
A Passage North shows this exploration of grief through the memory with highly philosophical prose. Right from the first line, I was hooked. I read, reread and read some more to just understand the gravity of the words. We follow Krishan on his journey to the war-torn North of Sri Lanka. And as the author points out, it is not just a physical journey but a journey from the deepest south to the north of his own mind.
We see all the characters through the eyes of Krishan. Even then, we are not shown all of them. We have to work with the vignettes of the characters in Krishan's memories. One thing I found fascinating is that how the author can connect mundane things to a trauma exploration. Like in one part, we see how Poosal built a temple in his mind and its connection with how Krishan creates the war scene in his mind using all the data he consumes. And how well PTSD is explored! I remembered all the psychology and rehabilitation lectures. It was surreal.
Another thing I liked about this book is how well trauma is investigated. We dissect layer by layer of Appamma's trauma caused by her ageing. How it makes her feel weak and cranky, almost like a toddler, showing that at the end of our life, we will be returned to the state of birth. Except now we will be waiting to die not to live. Then we see Anjum, who is not accepted by her mother for loving a woman. She may look indifferent to that, but it makes her vulnerable. This creates a restlessness that is only satisfied by her activist work with her comrades.
The heart of this book is Rani. It is her trauma that triggers something deep inside me. Rani lost her 2 sons in the Civil War. Deeply affected by PTSD, she even takes shock treatment and dozens of medications. She yearns for her boys and feels a detachment that affects her everyday life. The time Rani works as a caretaker of Appamma brings her a brief relief but not a cure. And we are left to figure out what happens to her.
.
.
The author brutally discusses the violence that happened around that time. There's this carnivalesque nature to the way he writes trauma. I don't know how else to put it. Krishan, ridden with survivor guilt, tries to appropriate the trauma by bringing violence to life in his mind. He is detached from the violence in person but there is an obsessive attachment to the trauma caused by it, that makes this whole thing complex.
.
.
I also love how atmospheric this novel is. The way the character's mood is reflected in the sunset or a passing train is beautiful. The small stories of Poosal and Pillayar, the uncertainty of new love and the realization that the love is not going to last. The tangle of bodies and mind and then yearning to detangle. The detachment and attachment to the self. It all adds flavour to the story. And how can I not mention the part where he talks about Kuttimani and LTTE cadets. The way he wrote it sounds cool and indifferent? Also, what's with the sentences as long as paragraphs, conversations without punctuations? I loved it but I constantly had to change the highlight colours which made my ebook look like a rainbow.
.
.
About the things that didn't work for me, we are shown the snippets of various happenings in the Civil War in the inner monologues. But, most of the time the transition from memory to reality is not smooth. That bumpy passage doesn't reduce the reading experience in any way. And we see vignettes of all the characters except Krishan and his mother. I understand why Krishan is detached but I would've loved to see his mother who lost a husband to the bombing, kept her sons under locks to save them and later have to put up with a whiny mother-in-law.
.
.
A Passage North is not an easy book to read. You will spend equal time reading and indulging in philosophical ramblings. But it is a book that must be read with tenderness and love and desire. I will not be surprised if this book makes it into the shortlist.
Memory is a trickster. Just when you think that it's gone, a smell, a smile or a song will induce that deepest part of it you think you forgot. When you are grieving, this memory is taunting. It taunts you with what-ifs and what not scenarios. You go through the motion as if you are an outsider to your feelings. When it comes to a breakpoint, the feelings that are at bay will engulf you as a whole. This is where you go numb. Where you don't feel pain and don't care whatever happens to you.
A Passage North shows this exploration of grief through the memory with highly philosophical prose. Right from the first line, I was hooked. I read, reread and read some more to just understand the gravity of the words. We follow Krishan on his journey to the war-torn North of Sri Lanka. And as the author points out, it is not just a physical journey but a journey from the deepest south to the north of his own mind.
We see all the characters through the eyes of Krishan. Even then, we are not shown all of them. We have to work with the vignettes of the characters in Krishan's memories. One thing I found fascinating is that how the author can connect mundane things to a trauma exploration. Like in one part, we see how Poosal built a temple in his mind and its connection with how Krishan creates the war scene in his mind using all the data he consumes. And how well PTSD is explored! I remembered all the psychology and rehabilitation lectures. It was surreal.
Another thing I liked about this book is how well trauma is investigated. We dissect layer by layer of Appamma's trauma caused by her ageing. How it makes her feel weak and cranky, almost like a toddler, showing that at the end of our life, we will be returned to the state of birth. Except now we will be waiting to die not to live. Then we see Anjum, who is not accepted by her mother for loving a woman. She may look indifferent to that, but it makes her vulnerable. This creates a restlessness that is only satisfied by her activist work with her comrades.
The heart of this book is Rani. It is her trauma that triggers something deep inside me. Rani lost her 2 sons in the Civil War. Deeply affected by PTSD, she even takes shock treatment and dozens of medications. She yearns for her boys and feels a detachment that affects her everyday life. The time Rani works as a caretaker of Appamma brings her a brief relief but not a cure. And we are left to figure out what happens to her.
.
.
The author brutally discusses the violence that happened around that time. There's this carnivalesque nature to the way he writes trauma. I don't know how else to put it. Krishan, ridden with survivor guilt, tries to appropriate the trauma by bringing violence to life in his mind. He is detached from the violence in person but there is an obsessive attachment to the trauma caused by it, that makes this whole thing complex.
.
.
I also love how atmospheric this novel is. The way the character's mood is reflected in the sunset or a passing train is beautiful. The small stories of Poosal and Pillayar, the uncertainty of new love and the realization that the love is not going to last. The tangle of bodies and mind and then yearning to detangle. The detachment and attachment to the self. It all adds flavour to the story. And how can I not mention the part where he talks about Kuttimani and LTTE cadets. The way he wrote it sounds cool and indifferent? Also, what's with the sentences as long as paragraphs, conversations without punctuations? I loved it but I constantly had to change the highlight colours which made my ebook look like a rainbow.
.
.
About the things that didn't work for me, we are shown the snippets of various happenings in the Civil War in the inner monologues. But, most of the time the transition from memory to reality is not smooth. That bumpy passage doesn't reduce the reading experience in any way. And we see vignettes of all the characters except Krishan and his mother. I understand why Krishan is detached but I would've loved to see his mother who lost a husband to the bombing, kept her sons under locks to save them and later have to put up with a whiny mother-in-law.
.
.
A Passage North is not an easy book to read. You will spend equal time reading and indulging in philosophical ramblings. But it is a book that must be read with tenderness and love and desire. I will not be surprised if this book makes it into the shortlist.