Abstract

The novel from which this excerpt is taken deals with an underprivileged community , and what they do to survive. It follows a girl whose whole family was torn apart by an LTTE bomb and who also finds herself befriending a Tamil child she thinks is stranded in Colombo, who reminds her of the brother she lost. In her dilemma, questions like what makes ethnicity – if the bodies are the same, is it then the language that one speaks? – are delved into in this excerpt. Her cousin who cares for her is connected to the underworld that sustains politicians , and we learn of some of the activities that go on there. Faith is also criticized as being ridiculous here, by the motif of a grinding stone, a possible instrument of death, later being revered as a holy object. Another thing alluded to is the link between masculinity and violence , by pointing out how a gun and permission to inflict harm upon others, can make a boy, who had earlier wet himself in fear of being hit, now imagine himself a hero.