1st Edition
The Routledge Companion to Sinhala Fiction from Post-War Sri Lanka Resistance and Reconfiguration
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.
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
Biography
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.
