PRESS RELEASE

Nalanda Publishing Canada (416 487 2777)

ISBN 978-0-9867198-0-6; US $ 14.95; Kindle $ 7.49
Distributed in Canada by A Different Booklist, Toronto
<info@ adifferentbooklist.com>.
Get it on Kindle.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B005RFUSBY

“An extraordinary first novel by an accomplished poet, Untouchable WomanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Odyssey offers a deeply insightful narrative of postcolonial Sri Lanka. Beneath the placid surface lies a tale of the challenges of modernity, the deep divisions of class and caste, and the traces of the past in shaping the present. With remarkable skill, the author moves back and forth in time, linking the present to the past, demonstrating the multiple ways in which Buddhism has shaped the contours of Sri Lankan culture. An inclusive text in the best sense of the term, the novel draws together multiple traditions to explore the pathos, paradoxes and richness of modern Sri Lanka. Suwanda SugunasiriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Untouchable WomanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Odyssey is a major contribution to both Canadian and Sri Lankan literature

.”This characterization by Prof. Chelva Kanaganayakam of the English Dept., University of Toronto, Canada came to be elaborated upon by him when the novelist was featured at the recently concluded

Festival of South Asian Literature and Arts

at the University of Toronto (Sept 30 to Oct 2).

Here, then, is that introduction:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “For those of you who are familiar with the literary scene in Toronto, Su-wanda Sugunasiri needs very little by way of introduction. Some of you know him as a scholar, as the author or critic who was among a small group that looked critically at what we read, at what we teach, and how we establish standards of canonicity, in literature and in social relations. Others might well have encoun-tered him as an editor, as one who was instrumental, about thirty years ago, in putting together an anthology of Sri Lankan literature for the Toronto South Asian Review.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ For many of us, however, he has been a notable poet, who, in three vol-umes of poetry, wrote on a range of themes with insight, balance, and lyrical beauty. This is not the occasion to talk at length about his poetry, but I would like to point out that what you see in his poetry is what I have called elsewhere, a wonderful spirit of accommodation, generosity, compassion and good humor. Let me also point out, long before all this, he was a writer of short fiction and an ac-tor and dancer in Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why, then, did he not write fiction, or more specifically, a novel? That was because he was saving the best for the last. When his novel came out at the end of last year, it was the result of almost a decade of preparation. The sheer scope of the novel tells you of the years of labor that went into this work of fiction, titled Untouchable WomanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Odyssey.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is in many ways an odyssey

, although the irony and paradox inherent in the title is difficult to miss. Epics are usually re-served for touchables and untouchables are the subject of tiny asides and incon-sequential subplots. Here it is an untouchable woman who is the central focus of a tale that is grounded in postcolonial Sri Lanka but one that is also framed by centuries of history. Gods, mythological figures, ancient religious and literary texts, works written in Pali and in Tamil, all converge in the making of this un-touchable woman and this very relevant text.

I speak about relevance, because, despite all its allegorical trappings, there is never any doubt in the readerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mind that the novel is about postcolonial Sri Lanka, particularly during those crucial few decades from the time of inde-pendence to the recent past. If you take the trouble to decode the novel ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” and that can be done very easily, there is a world of social and political history hidden within it. Major political figures and social activists appear and disappear, telling us that this is a novel about a particular time and place. Let me also point out that the novel does not use politics as a peg to anchor the fiction. It has now become trendy for a number of novels to use political events as markers in very naƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¯ve fashion to ensure a certain kind of appeal. Such works tend to be predictable and often simplistic.

In Untouchable WomanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Odyssey the political backdrop oc-curs quite naturally in a social fabric where the political is both necessary and inevitable.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I mentioned earlier the significance of writing an epic in prose. Typically, epics need climactic moments. With all their digressions and repetitions, epics tend to move towards a culminating point, a battle, an epiphany, or a union of one kind or another. This novel does away with that technique. The lives of ordinary people do not necessarily involve melodramatic moments. I must confess that when I first read the novel I waited and waited for a dramatic turn of events, but that did not happen. The novel works so well not in spite of that, but because of that. Since there is no single moment to draw our attention, we are struck by the entire canvas, by all those moments that cohere and lead to a unity of vision.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In a review of the book, I call the novel an inclusive text, and I think the adjective needs a word of explication. In the context of Sri Lankan literature, quite often the focus has been narrow. One might speculate about why this has been the case, particularly when the literature deals with a very small country, but the fact is that novelists have tended to stay within certain ethnic frames. The reality is, however, that is not how life operates on a day to day basis. Different ethnic groups and different religious groups study together, work together, live together, and share so much in common. Divisions have been arbitrary, largely motivated by the exigencies of politics. In Untouchable WomanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Odyssey, these arbitrary borders have been erased. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians are all part of the narrative.

The novel does not pretend that problems do not exist ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” ethnicity, religion, and caste for instance matter, such is the wonderful artifice of the novel that it pulls all the strands together in a warm, compassionate and very thoughtful tale. Herein lies its inclusiveness.

All of SuwandaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s writing tends to have a soft Buddhist halo around it. Af-ter all he has written about Buddhism so extensively in his critical writings and is a deep believer in Buddhism.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This novel too is very Buddhist in its approach to characters and events. The dimension is part of the artifice of the novel, and it works admirably well to guide the reader through a period of upheaval and un-certainty in Sri Lanka. Ultimately, it does not matter how one labels the novel: Sri Lankan, Canadian, multicultural, or postcolonial. This is a novel that I thor-oughly enjoyed reading, and I am sure you will, too

.” Commenting on the novel, English Professor Frank Birbalsingh, of York University, To-ronto, says,” .. a deeply moving love story of a couple divided by caste and ethnicity, and a brilliant evocation of the ancient, mythic and religious past of a country in South Asia… The story comes alive within a wholly convincing fictional landscape that serves as the stage for a witty and informative dramatization of the country’s modern, post-colonial struggle for freedom and independence

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “What is genius?” asks Padma Edirisinghe, in the Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “It can be defined in variegated ways, but the utmost genius in the field of writing could surface when an author manages to packet into 366 pages a 2500 saga of his country’s history via a story, melodramatic yet extremely touching” (bold added).

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (sundayobserver.lk> Montage> Book Corner, 06 26 2011.)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “The precocious Tangamma”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is how Prof. Shelton Guneratne,

Mass Media Professor Emeritus of Minnesota State University, USA, characterizes the female protagonist. (

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2011/05/05/novelist-unfolds-link-of- …).

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “Tangamma is the heroine, the true woman of Asia with a practical mind, adapt able to any situation, to face any hardship, deprivation and also with the strength and the willpower, “agrees Daya Dissanayake (ceylondailynews.lk , 06 29, 2011).

In a personal note, an Award-winning Canadian writer commenting on an early draft notes, “The novel is beautifully written and complexƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦. There are two protagonists in this novel, an ambitious task, and one you succeed admirably…You have a natural writing voice, [with] the charactersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ voices flowing over one another as effortless as waterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦. The language is lush and yet not self-conscious, evocative and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ clear.”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Another Canadian reader, well versed in the Canadian literary scene, writes,

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦..I like the characters ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” theyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢re compelling and realistic. The story, too, is very engrossing. Definitely intriguing and moving ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ a well-woven and well-told storyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Here are some other comments:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¢“ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦portrayal of the rustic, bucolic life in the South is authentic as it could be.”

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¢ “Pulsating vibrantly underneathƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦”,

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¢ “ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ deft execution of conflict, intensifying action, crisis and climaxƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦”,

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¢ “ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦incredibly cinematic, camera panning from one image to another, then zoom-ing in..”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Well-written, authentic, complex, compelling, insightful, convincing, extraordinaryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦and a deeply moving love story

! What more can be asked of a novel, and of a writer produc-ing his first novel at the prime age of 75?

Ask for your copy at your bookstore, or the Distributor, or contact the Publisher directly.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Write your comments to <suwanda.sugunasiri@utoronto.ca>