Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera
Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera
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Island of a Thousand Mirrors

Author: Nayomi Munaweera

Narrator: Priya Ayyar

Unabridged: 7 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/02/2014

Synopsis

A stunning literary debut of two young women on opposing sides of the devastating Sri Lankan Civil WarBefore violence tore apart the tapestry of Sri Lanka and turned its pristine beaches red, there were two families. Yasodhara tells the story of her own Sinhala family, rich in love, with everything they could ask for. As a child in idyllic Colombo, Yasodhara and her siblings' lives are shaped by social hierarchies, their parents' ambitions, teenage love, and, subtly, the differences between Tamil and Sinhala people; but the peace is shattered by the tragedies of war. Yasodhara's family escapes to Los Angeles. But Yasodhara's life has already become intertwined with a young Tamil girl's.Saraswathi is living in the active war zone of Sri Lanka and hopes to become a teacher. But her dreams for the future are abruptly stamped out when she is arrested by a group of Sinhala soldiers and pulled into the very heart of the conflict that she has tried so hard to avoid—a conflict that, eventually, will connect her and Yasodhara in unexpected ways.In the tradition of Michael Ondatje's Anil's Ghost and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, Island of a Thousand Mirrors is an emotionally resonant saga of cultural heritage, heartbreaking conflict, and deep family bonds. Narrated in two unforgettably authentic voices and spanning the entirety of the decades-long civil war, it offers an unparalleled portrait of a beautiful land during its most difficult moment by a spellbinding new literary talent who promises tremendous things to come.

About Nayomi Munaweera

Nayomi Munaweera was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Nigeria. She immigrated to the United States in her early teens and now lives in Oakland, California. Island of a Thousand Mirrors, her debut novel, won the 2013 Commonwealth Book Prize for the Asian Region and was longlisted for the 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize.

About Priya Ayyar

Priya Ayyar is an audiobook narrator, actor, and writer with a BFA and MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her acting credits for television and film include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, All My Children, and the documentary The Children of War. She has appeared on stage in War of the Unheard, Aminta, and The Road Home, and she has written and performed in the plays Karmic Fusion and Losing Remote Control.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Canadian Jen on February 14, 2016

I was lulled by this narrative and its powerfully descriptive writing. The thousand mirrors are the school of silver fish that inhabit the coral surrounding Sri Lanka. They appear to be shards of mirrors as they come together in a frenzy then frantically break apart as they swim out to sea. I catch m......more

Goodreads review by Candi on July 27, 2016

"Sometimes I get this breathless feeling that the war is a living creature, something huge, with a pointed tongue and wicked claws. When the tanks rumble past in the far fields, I feel it breathe; when the air strikes start and the blood flows, I feel it lick its lips." Island of a Thousand Mirrors i......more

Goodreads review by Angela M on June 03, 2014

I knew pretty much nothing about the civil war in Sri Lanka before I read this novel. About half way through, I stopped reading to learn more so I could better understand this story. I learned that this war lasted over 25 years from 1983 – 2009 and that 80,000 – 100,000 people were killed. What thos......more

Goodreads review by Aatreyee on February 01, 2014

It is always hard for me to read a book that talks about immigration. Living in a world of literature where the subject of immi-emi and every sort of integration has been talked about so much, I am always a little weary of picking up a book which yet again comes back to the same American-South Asian......more

Goodreads review by Claire on January 08, 2017

In 2016 I read Nayomi Munaweera's second novel What Lies Between Us and it was one of my Top Reads of 2016, a novel of a young woman trying to adjust to life in a new country, though still haunted by both the beauty and tragedy of her past, her childhood in Sri Lanka. Island of a Thousand Mirrors sim......more

Quotes

“The beating heart of Island of a Thousand Mirrors is not so much its human characters but Sri Lanka itself and the vivid, occasionally incandescent, language used to describe this teardrop in the Indian Ocean.” New York Times Book Review

“Munaweera writes with ferocity, fire, and poetry of the incomprehensible madness of civil war and its effects upon those caught within it…A masterful, incendiary debut.” Janet Fitch, New York Times bestselling author

“The color, tastes, sounds, and smells of Sri Lanka ooze from its pages, vibrant and intoxicating, but as beauty turns to brutality our sympathies are tossed between two young women whose different paths are fashioned by the violence of civil war but whose inner humanity is never forgotten.” Sarah Dunant, New York Times bestselling author

“A breathtaking work of lyrical prose and vivid, transporting imagery.” Booklist (starred review)

“The paradisiacal landscapes of Sri Lanka are as astonishing as the barbarity of its revolution, and Munaweera evokes the power of both in a lyrical debut novel.” Publishers Weekly

“Exquisitely written and beautifully evocative of an exotic place and bygone age.” Alan Brennert, award-winning author of Moloka’i

“By turns tender, beautiful, and devastating, Island of a Thousand Mirrors is a deeply resonant tale of an unraveling Sri Lanka. Incredibly moving, complex, and with prose you may want to eat, this debut is a triumph.” NoViolet Bulawayo, award-winning author of We Need New Names

“A searing tale of the Sri Lankan Civil War…Nayomi Munaweera breathes life into the beauty and terror of that era through her delicate, bittersweet prose. An unforgettable novel.” Yangsze Choo, author of The Ghost Bride

“The three women and the core of this ambitious, globe-spanning story show us, heartbreakingly, that we are linked by more than nation, more than race, more, even, than blood. A dark, beautiful, transporting debut.” V. V. Ganeshananthan, author of Love Marriage

Awards

  • Commonwealth Book Prize
  • Man Asian Literary Prize
  • Publishers Weekly Pick
  • New York Times Pick
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