In Sri Lanka, at least 100,000 died between 1983 and 2009, when the conflict officially ended amid mass carnage. Richard de Zoysa, the Sri Lankan journalist likely killed by government death squads, inspired the anti-hero Maali Almeida. Sri Lankan officials inspect St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of Colombo, after multiple explosions targeting churches and hotels across Sri Lanka on April 21, 2019, in Negombo, Sri Lanka. “Now it’s possible for Sri Lankan writers with long names,” he jokes, “to be read everywhere.” He just hopes Sri Lankan music catches up with Sri Lankan literature, and finds its own unique voice. For a while, between his first book, and his second, Seven Moons, Karunatilaka thought he’d just be another “one-hit wonder”.

Source: The Herald July 02, 2023 05:06 UTC