Barbara T

Although I am an avid reader of novels about other cultures, I found myself reading Island of a Thousand Mirrors with a mix of interest and confusion. Nayomi Manaweera weaves this multi-family saga masterfully; the author is to be praised for offering sensitive insight into the Sinhala-Tamil conflict. Unfortunately, there is also some confusion in the telling. Like any story with unfamiliar 'foreign' names, this book constantly challenges the reader to keep the characters properly related. Separate anecdotes are related side-by-side, switching back and forth sometimes abruptly. About 100 pages in, just when I thought I understood the relationships, a man Thatha is mentioned for the first time and the reader is expected to know him. I actually stopped to look up the word, as I suspected it was a term of familial endearment; yes, Thatha is Tamil for Grandfather. Many pages later I deduced that Thatha is the narrator's father, whom the reader has known since the first chapter. He is no one's grandfather, however, so my research was misleading. I experienced more confusion when, in Part Two, Saraswathi comes into the story. As events unfold, the author hints that Saraswathi recognizes one of the women from Part One. I still haven't figured out that connection, although I've read the book through to the end twice now. All this said, I do highly recommend this book. Ms. Manaweera has created a heart-wrenching, insightful portrayal of the all-too-human tribal conflict in Sri Lanka. It's worth muddling through the confusion.