A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
Krishan is the name of our main character. A Tamil man who was born in Sri Lanka, but moved to India to study. By doing so, he automatically distanced himself for the ongoing civil war. In India he has a short-lived romance with Anjum that still lingers in his mind even months after their breakup. Krishan has moved back to Sri Lanka and lives in Colombo with his mom, grandma and Rani, his grandma's caretaker. In the beginning of the novel, we learn that Rani has suddenly passed away. Krishan is invited to the funeral which takes place in the North of Sri Lanka. This takes Krishan and the readers on a journey to the north of Sri Lanka and through Krishan's mind as he thinks back on his time in India, through his relationship with Anjum and his guilt for not being in Sri Lanka while a civil war was going on. Reading this novel was a special experience. The language was poetic and it is clear that the author has studied philosophy as he displays this through Krishan's reflec...