HOTMONKEYPUB
The Devil Dancers
www.thedevildancers.com/index.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midwest Book Review
By Diane Donovan, West Coast Editor MBR
Ceylon in the mid-1950s was a pivotal time, with forces erupting that would challenge and change the country's direction, ultimately creating a 25-year civil war that would become a way of life for many. While The Devil Dancers is a historical novel about these events, it's replete with cultural and political observations grounded in fact, and will prove a rich read for any interested in complex, detailed historical accounts.
Fictional characters interact freely with figures from historical record, the motivations and failings of a range of protagonists are included in descriptions filled with psychological and social insights, and T. Thurai's writing imparts information deftly in a manner that assumes no prior familiarity with Ceylonese culture or history
A powerful saga of love, violence, and perseverance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW
This magical-realist novel features Faustian pacts and forbidden love in its depiction of the circumstances feeding into the Sri Lankan civil war.
Thurai's debut teems with characters navigating the social, political and spiritual realities of 1950s Ceylon, in what is now Sri Lanka. ....a wealth of stories emerge ...
Thurai's lengthy novel is more realistic than magical, as she evokes mythos without letting magic overwhelm the humanity of the narrative. Hooniyam, the horrific demon, is one of only a few nonhumans that pop up, and the bulk of the intersecting stories develop out of human emotion and real cultural rifts in historical Ceylon. ...
Thurai's work may divide readers with deep connections to Sri Lankan politics, but her empathy helps bridge the fissure between the Sinhalese and Tamil people. Amid powerful insight into post-colonial politics and the beginnings of Sri Lanka's violent war, the author only condemns the violence that erupts out of the cultural and political conflict, not the nonpartisan life decisions the citizens on either side of the conflict must make.
Sultry romance, tense politicking and colorful mythmaking combine for a broad, engaging novel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Law Society Gazette by David R. Pickup (Partner, Pickup & Scott, Aylesbury)
The story of Ceylon's emergence as an independent nation is less well known than its larger neighbours that form the Indian subcontinent. This book is set in the 1950s and covers post British rule and the resulting ethnic and political tensions. The Devil Dancers shows what a lawyer, who can write, can do with some imagination and legal training. It reads more like a Shakespearean tragedy.
It will appeal to anyone who enjoys A Passage to India or The Raj Quartet. But unlike them it is not about the British in India or about the British sense of class, as no British characters appear in the book. It is written entirely from the local standpoint.
The book also contains deities or spirits that become active characters in the story. This is alien to most of us. The way gods and idols come to life and mischievously interfere in human events is not something that we are familiar with. The gods and deities seem to mirror, if not cause, the jealousies and antagonisms the human characters have.
The author, T Thurai, studied as a historian before working as a journalist for 10 years. She then re-trained as a lawyer and worked in a number of large London firms...In that role she developed her writing and research skills, which was crucial to unearth the political story behind this book. Her legal training is obvious in the research and the drama gleaned from contemporary sources.
This enjoyable work brings a neglected period alive. I look forward to her next books.
The Devil Dancers
www.thedevildancers.com/index.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midwest Book Review
By Diane Donovan, West Coast Editor MBR
Ceylon in the mid-1950s was a pivotal time, with forces erupting that would challenge and change the country's direction, ultimately creating a 25-year civil war that would become a way of life for many. While The Devil Dancers is a historical novel about these events, it's replete with cultural and political observations grounded in fact, and will prove a rich read for any interested in complex, detailed historical accounts.
Fictional characters interact freely with figures from historical record, the motivations and failings of a range of protagonists are included in descriptions filled with psychological and social insights, and T. Thurai's writing imparts information deftly in a manner that assumes no prior familiarity with Ceylonese culture or history
A powerful saga of love, violence, and perseverance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW
This magical-realist novel features Faustian pacts and forbidden love in its depiction of the circumstances feeding into the Sri Lankan civil war.
Thurai's debut teems with characters navigating the social, political and spiritual realities of 1950s Ceylon, in what is now Sri Lanka. ....a wealth of stories emerge ...
Thurai's lengthy novel is more realistic than magical, as she evokes mythos without letting magic overwhelm the humanity of the narrative. Hooniyam, the horrific demon, is one of only a few nonhumans that pop up, and the bulk of the intersecting stories develop out of human emotion and real cultural rifts in historical Ceylon. ...
Thurai's work may divide readers with deep connections to Sri Lankan politics, but her empathy helps bridge the fissure between the Sinhalese and Tamil people. Amid powerful insight into post-colonial politics and the beginnings of Sri Lanka's violent war, the author only condemns the violence that erupts out of the cultural and political conflict, not the nonpartisan life decisions the citizens on either side of the conflict must make.
Sultry romance, tense politicking and colorful mythmaking combine for a broad, engaging novel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Law Society Gazette by David R. Pickup (Partner, Pickup & Scott, Aylesbury)
The story of Ceylon's emergence as an independent nation is less well known than its larger neighbours that form the Indian subcontinent. This book is set in the 1950s and covers post British rule and the resulting ethnic and political tensions. The Devil Dancers shows what a lawyer, who can write, can do with some imagination and legal training. It reads more like a Shakespearean tragedy.
It will appeal to anyone who enjoys A Passage to India or The Raj Quartet. But unlike them it is not about the British in India or about the British sense of class, as no British characters appear in the book. It is written entirely from the local standpoint.
The book also contains deities or spirits that become active characters in the story. This is alien to most of us. The way gods and idols come to life and mischievously interfere in human events is not something that we are familiar with. The gods and deities seem to mirror, if not cause, the jealousies and antagonisms the human characters have.
The author, T Thurai, studied as a historian before working as a journalist for 10 years. She then re-trained as a lawyer and worked in a number of large London firms...In that role she developed her writing and research skills, which was crucial to unearth the political story behind this book. Her legal training is obvious in the research and the drama gleaned from contemporary sources.
This enjoyable work brings a neglected period alive. I look forward to her next books.