This Divided Island: Stories From The Sri Lankan War
When the Tamil Tigers' commander fell in the summer of 2009, it marked the violent conclusion of three decades of bloodshed across Sri Lanka. The conflict had seeped into every corner of the island, from Colombo's crowded streets to the lagoons and beaches of the east, leaving scarcely a soul untouched by its ravages. Subramanian ventures into a nation still trembling in war's aftermath, where exhaustion and trauma hang thick in the air. He listens to ordinary people grappling with what they've witnessed. He probes the troubling alliance between faith and authority. He traces how those wielding power grow callous in its grip, and how victors reshape narrative itself, whitewashing inconvenient truths. This account strips back the layers of a society struggling to move forward. Through patient reporting and candid encounters, the author reveals the awkward, often painful ways communities attempt to make peace with horror. What emerges is neither neat nor reassuring, but honest: a portrait of a fractured nation wrestling with memory, justice, and the stubborn weight of its past. Winner of the Raymond Crossword Book Award for Non-Fiction, 2014.
- Author: Samanth Subramanian
- Publisher: India Penguin
- Genre: Journalism & Media Studies
- ISBN: 978-0143425472
- Pages: 336 pages