ABOUT
THE BOOK

A novel of exceptional achievement, Cinnamon Gardens is Shyam Selvadurai`s eagerly awaited second novel, following his prize-winning debut, Funny Boy. Lush and beautiful, this story of intertwined lives vividly evokes the gracious world of 1920s Ceylon (Sri Lanka) among the upper classes of Colombo’s wealthy suburb, Cinnamon Gardens, during a period when the power of colonial rule is shifting. During the course of one year, Annalukshmi, a young schoolteacher, finds herself caught between her family’s pressures to marry and her own desire for a more independent life; a life she sees reflected in her mentor, Miss Lawton, a progressive headmistress- a life, she discovers, that is fraught with complexities and danger and with rules that cannot be broken. Then there is Balendran, the obedient son of a domineering patriarch, a feudal aristocrat and landowner. Balendran – whose story is brilliantly counterpointed with that of his niece Annalukshmi – leads a comfortable existence with his wife, Sonia, until he learns that Richard Howland is to arrive in Colombo for the Donoughmore Commission hearings. This uneasy reunion with a lover from the past throws Balendran into turmoil and re-ignites tensions with his father as it threatens everything on which Balendran has built his present life. As the narrative unfolds and deepens, we meet a varied cast of characters, including: Louisa, Annalukshmi`s mother, who, in the face of a failed marriage, struggles to raise her daughters alone; Vijith Jayaweera, a poor clerk with connections in the Labour Union; Arul, Balendran`s exiled brother; and the delightfully high-strung and meddlesome Philomena Barnett. Cinnamon Gardens is a rich and unforgettable tapestry of lives. Selvadurai`s sensual descriptions and keen insights into the workings of the heart take us behind the fragrant gardens and polished surfaces of the elite to reveal a world of splintered families, conflicted passions, and lives destroyed by class hatred. With this novel, Shyam Selvadurai confirms his earlier promise as one of the country`s most distinctive and talented new voices.