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 reflections on life, relationships, war and more. His long descriptions are sort of dream-like and in a way magical. He reflects on even simple topics such as the first time you find yourself having a crush on someone. The whole proces he describes beautifully and in a new way I have never thought of before. It was truly beautiful to read.

Part of the novel centers around the civil war in Sri Lanka. Krishan did not experience the war in the same way as others as he was mostly safe living in Colombo. However, he did lose his father in one of the many battles that took place. We learn about the war and its effect on the people who experienced it through Rani. She has lost two sons in the war and never healed from that. She was depressed most of the time and even tried electro-shock therapy in order to feel better. Nothing helped. Rani's story is tragic and she represents the numerous mothers who lost sons and daughters to the devastating war. 

 

Krishan's reflections also takes us to his time in India when the war came to an "end" and he felt guilty for not being there and not knowing enough. He goes through a period where he is almost obsessed with the war and tries to obtain knowledge through the internet. This is difficult as a lot of stories have been censored - or simply not shared. Krishan is not alone in feeling guilty. I believe that many people that have fled from war feel the same way and I think that some children of refugees do not learn about the war since it must bring their parents pain to talk about it.

An interesting aspect of the novel was when Krishan retold different stories with his own reflections. For instance, he mentions the documentary My Daughter the Terrorist. It is about two Tamil girls who decided to join the Black Tigers which is the elite force of the Tamil Tigers. There is also the story of Kuttimani, one of the leaders of one of the first Tamil separatist groups. A lot of the stories were new to me and I truly enjoyed learning about them.

In general, I liked the novel. It was beautifully written and is full of reflections about life. It was also just very educating to read it. I would definitely recommend reading A Passage North.