Reviews from the Guardian and the Times referred to this novel as “often funny” and crediting the story with “tremendous imagination.” I couldn’t disagree more. It appeared as if these reviewers knew nothing about Sri Lankan history because there was nothing funny about thousands of bodies hacked to pieces so they couldn’t be identified and dumped into a Colombo lake. Nor anything imaginative about these facts because that’s what they were—historical facts. What was clever about Karunatalaka’s writing was that Almeida, his main character is killed, and oversees these crimes as a ghost thereby telling the tale from an omnipotent viewpoint.
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Ellie Eaton’s — The Divines *****
Joe/Josephine is an insecure yet studious student at an English private girls boarding school. Skipper, her best friend until their second last year at the school, has moved on and become closer to the twins. To make matters worse, Joe has to share a room with Gerry, the skating champion no one likes. Joe befriends a townie, a connection frowned upon by the students, the Divines. But Joe continues the friendship and develops a crush on Stuart, her townie friend’s brother. Soon everything goes from bad to worse in an environment where girls from privileged homes, have an air of entitlement. They laugh at others behind their backs, tease relentlessly and bully unpopular Gerry.
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