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Cinnamon Gardens
Set among the upper classes in the gracious, repressive and complex world of 1920s Ceylon (Sri Lanka), this evocative novel tells the story of two people who must determine if it is possible to pursue personal happiness without compromising the happiness of others.
A young teacher, Annalukshmi, whose splintered family attempts to arrange an appropriate marriage for her, must decide whether the independence she craves will doom her to a life without love and companionship.
It is also the story of Balendran who, respectably married, must suppress-or confront-the secret desires for men that threaten to throw his life into chaos. With sensuous atmosphere and vivid prose, this masterfully plotted novel re-creates a world where a beautiful veneer of fragrant gardens and manners hides social, personal, and political issues still relevant today.
A young teacher, Annalukshmi, whose splintered family attempts to arrange an appropriate marriage for her, must decide whether the independence she craves will doom her to a life without love and companionship.
It is also the story of Balendran who, respectably married, must suppress-or confront-the secret desires for men that threaten to throw his life into chaos. With sensuous atmosphere and vivid prose, this masterfully plotted novel re-creates a world where a beautiful veneer of fragrant gardens and manners hides social, personal, and political issues still relevant today.
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Shyam Selvadurai
11 books389 followersShyam Selvadurai is a Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist who wrote Funny Boy (1994), which won the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and Cinnamon Gardens (1998). He currently lives in Toronto with his partner Andrew Champion.
Selvadurai was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka to a Sinhalese mother and a Tamil father--members of conflicting ethnic groups whose troubles form a major theme in his work. Ethnic riots in 1983 drove the family to emigrate to Canada when Selvadurai was nineteen. He studied creative and professional writing as part of a Bachelor of Fine Arts program at York University.
Selvadurai recounted an account of the discomfort he and his partner experienced during a period spent in Sri Lanka in 1997 in his essay "Coming Out" in Time Asia's special issue on the Asian diaspora in 2003.
In 2004, Selvadurai edited a collection of short stories: Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers, which includes works by Salman Rushdie, Monica Ali, and Hanif Kureishi, among others. He published a young adult novel, Swimming in the Monsoon Sea, in 2005. Swimming won the Lambda Literary Award in the Children's and Youth Literature category in 2006. He was a contributor to TOK: Writing the New Toronto, Book 1.
Selvadurai was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka to a Sinhalese mother and a Tamil father--members of conflicting ethnic groups whose troubles form a major theme in his work. Ethnic riots in 1983 drove the family to emigrate to Canada when Selvadurai was nineteen. He studied creative and professional writing as part of a Bachelor of Fine Arts program at York University.
Selvadurai recounted an account of the discomfort he and his partner experienced during a period spent in Sri Lanka in 1997 in his essay "Coming Out" in Time Asia's special issue on the Asian diaspora in 2003.
In 2004, Selvadurai edited a collection of short stories: Story-Wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers, which includes works by Salman Rushdie, Monica Ali, and Hanif Kureishi, among others. He published a young adult novel, Swimming in the Monsoon Sea, in 2005. Swimming won the Lambda Literary Award in the Children's and Youth Literature category in 2006. He was a contributor to TOK: Writing the New Toronto, Book 1.
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March 16, 2022
Jeste da se malo slomi jezik dok se izgovori ime autora pravilno (Šajem Selvadurai), ali je ovaj kanadski autor zaista vredan pažnja... Kod nans ga je objavila Laguna u sjajnom prevodu Jelene Stakić... Cejlon pre 100 godina... Egzotika...
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January 13, 2020Historical novel set in 1920s Sri Lanka (Ceylon as was) with two vaguely connected stories--the secretly gay married man and his younger proto feminist cousin who wants to be a teacher.
It's well written, and I liked the vivid depiction of place and time a great deal--I knew nothing of the history of Ceylon but was unsurprised to learn the British made a mess of it--but there just isn't enough plot. It's more like a slice of life--the stuff that happens in a year--without any driving plotline or even any big changes. Stuff happens but in the end everyone is more or less where they started, albeit having learned something. Ultimately unsatisfying for me, though a more character-driven reader would doubtless take a different view.
It's well written, and I liked the vivid depiction of place and time a great deal--I knew nothing of the history of Ceylon but was unsurprised to learn the British made a mess of it--but there just isn't enough plot. It's more like a slice of life--the stuff that happens in a year--without any driving plotline or even any big changes. Stuff happens but in the end everyone is more or less where they started, albeit having learned something. Ultimately unsatisfying for me, though a more character-driven reader would doubtless take a different view.
December 8, 2021
4.5.
Dealing with serious themes like sexuality, class, race, limitations of white feminism, I didn't expect it to such an enjoyable read, flowing so gently. I would have preferred that the reflection of politics of the island at the time didn't come from such a place of privilege, but that aside, it's a charming novel, full of moving moments and beautiful writing, particularly when it came to the closeted queer person's burden of being unable to live a life of truth in a world dictated by traditions and propriety.
Dealing with serious themes like sexuality, class, race, limitations of white feminism, I didn't expect it to such an enjoyable read, flowing so gently. I would have preferred that the reflection of politics of the island at the time didn't come from such a place of privilege, but that aside, it's a charming novel, full of moving moments and beautiful writing, particularly when it came to the closeted queer person's burden of being unable to live a life of truth in a world dictated by traditions and propriety.
February 6, 2019
Although a bit different in style and content from his more autobiographical first novel, 'Funny Boy', this is also an outstanding and fascinating book, giving a convincing glimpse into the Ceylon of the 1920's ...would also make a wonderful movie, if someone had the courage to film it.
February 28, 2018
3.5 Stars. Shyam Selvadurai's Cinnamon Gardens is a family drama set in 1920's Ceylon which looks at themes such as feminism, homosexuality and infidelity through the value system of that time. If you don't understand that (the author makes no attempt to clarify in the story), the book seems anachronistic and pointless.
The two main protagonists are 40 year old Balendran and his niece Annalakshumi. Balendran, married with kids and dominated by his father, carries the guilt of his 'inversion'. He abandons his feeling for Richard and tries to conform thereby in eternal conflict of his identity. We have Annalakshumi who is a borderline feminist trying to break the taboos of having a career, breaking alliance or talking with a gentleman.
The other characters form the atmosphere including the scheming Mudaliyar who lives with the consequences of his action or Miss Lawton, the European headmistress of the Christian school who carries a bias for the locals/hindus. Kumudhini as the selfish sister or Seelan as the tainted nephew bring out the character of the protagonists.
What does work is the simple attempt to explain the conflicting emotions. Like when Annalukshmi feels jealous of her sister Kumudhini who accepts the alliance she walks out of or the get-together of Richard and Balendran. However, the atmosphere built up somehow makes you lose focus on the main characters. It seems like the characters are getting lost in the environment (much like real life) for you to get a fulfilling book.
As for as closure, I am not sure the book had one. It could have ended at 3 different points with the same impact. The Ceylon of 1920s is a plus.
A good attempt at what it set out to attempt!
The two main protagonists are 40 year old Balendran and his niece Annalakshumi. Balendran, married with kids and dominated by his father, carries the guilt of his 'inversion'. He abandons his feeling for Richard and tries to conform thereby in eternal conflict of his identity. We have Annalakshumi who is a borderline feminist trying to break the taboos of having a career, breaking alliance or talking with a gentleman.
The other characters form the atmosphere including the scheming Mudaliyar who lives with the consequences of his action or Miss Lawton, the European headmistress of the Christian school who carries a bias for the locals/hindus. Kumudhini as the selfish sister or Seelan as the tainted nephew bring out the character of the protagonists.
What does work is the simple attempt to explain the conflicting emotions. Like when Annalukshmi feels jealous of her sister Kumudhini who accepts the alliance she walks out of or the get-together of Richard and Balendran. However, the atmosphere built up somehow makes you lose focus on the main characters. It seems like the characters are getting lost in the environment (much like real life) for you to get a fulfilling book.
As for as closure, I am not sure the book had one. It could have ended at 3 different points with the same impact. The Ceylon of 1920s is a plus.
A good attempt at what it set out to attempt!
July 23, 2013
Sri Lanka in the 1920s was a British colony called Ceylon. Already divided along caste and ethnic lines, the British encouraged the divide, raising up some natives to rule, in small ways, over others. Annalukshmi Kandiah is the eldest daughter of Louisa, who came from one of the oldest Christian Tamil families but who eloped with Murugasu, a man who "had gained notoriety in his village of Jaffna for beheading the Gods in the household shrine during a quarrel with his father, running away to Malaya, and converting to Christianity." [p.4] Louisa, with three daughters in tow, left him and moved back to Colombo where they now live in a small cottage in the wealthy neighbourhood of Cinnamon Gardens. In 1927, at the age of twenty-two, Annalukshmi has acquired a teaching qualification and returned to the girls' Colpetty Mission School, run by her idol and mentor, Miss Amelia Lawton, to teach.
This caused quite the stir, if not an outright scandal, among their circle. Only girls too poor or too ugly to "catch" a husband need stoop to working as a teacher. "They saw it as a deliberate thumbing of her nose at the prospect of marriage. She might as well have joined a convent. They blamed her wilful, careless nature on both parents." [p.4] Not only does Annalukshmi's pursuit of higher education and work cast a negative light on her parents - though no one has a high opinion of her father, anyway - but her actions, her desire to ride a bicycle and her disinterest in marriage will make it harder for her younger sisters, Kumudini and Manohari, to marry. Annalukshmi has the kind of ambition none of them can understand.
Their neighbour is the Mudaliyar Navaratnam, now seventy, who lives in one of the grandest houses in Cinnamon Gardens. A relative on their paternal grandfather's side, he is an honorary uncle to the Kandiah girls as well as being one of the mudaliyars appointed by the British governor of Ceylon - an appointment based on loyalty to the British Empire. An official who listens to petitioners and has a seat of some kind in parliament, the Mudaliyar was raised as a very spoilt boy who never learnt how to deal with conflict or the needs of others. Years ago he exiled his eldest son for getting a servant girl pregnant - not for having sex with her or the child, but for falling in love with her and marrying her in secret. His own will thwarted, he banished Arul, and the girl Pakkiam, to India, granting him a small allowance but making his entire household, from his wife and younger son to all the servants, to never have any contact with him or speak of him again.
Balendran, the Mudaliyar's youngest son, was raised up in Arul's place. The boys had never been very close so Balendran had no problem putting aside thoughts of Arul - not so his mother, Nalamma. Now forty years old, Balendran has been successful in managing the family estate and temple - in fact the family's wealth and position has never been better because of the changes he made - and he long ago married his cousin Sonia, who is half-English, and had a son of his own, Lukshman, now at university in England. But Balendran has never forgotten - or overcome - his first love, Richard Howland, whom he lived with when he himself was a student in Britain. Twenty years have gone by, and suddenly Balendran is faced with the prospect of seeing Richard again, here, in Colombo.
Richard Howland is accompanying the Donoughmore Constitutional Commission to write a research paper on it, but Balendran's father thinks Richard is part of the commission itself, as an advisor to Dr Drummond Shiels, and wants Balendran to use his past connection and influence to get Richard on the Mudaliyar's side, and thus Dr Shiels. Balendran is deeply torn. He longs to see Richard again, yet is afraid to. Homosexuality is of course forbidden in Ceylonese society, and the Mudaliyar - who came to their home in England and knows exactly what they were doing - has Balendran under his thumb not just with the familial obligations that tie son to father, but with the power of his knowledge as well. His wife Sonia is furious because the Mudaliyar is against self-governemnt and universal franchise (giving the vote to the entire population, regardless of gender or caste), and Balendran would be a hypocrite to promote something he doesn't believe in, on his father's behalf.
But Richard isn't an advisor, he has no influence, and without that manipulation hanging over Balendran he is free to focus on rebuilding his own relationship with Richard. It means opening himself up to his own needs and desires once again, being vulnerable and more aware of the lies he lives.
Both Annalukshmi and Balendran are faced with strong opposition to the lifestyle and freedoms they want, and handle it in slightly different ways. For Annalukshmi, it is a time of shedding her youthful naiveté and seeing more clearly her position in Ceylonese society - not just among her own people and class, but in the eyes of her mentor Miss Lawton as well. She must decide what path she will take, for she cannot have marriage and a career. Balendran must face the family's secrets, their locked-away past, and learn for himself just where his loyalties should lie: with his dictatorial father and his dictates born of fear, or with his own heart, his own conscience. As change bears down on the entire colony, and a new era is on the cusp of being born, these two cousins also go through change and growth, and must decide who they will be on the other side.
I read this for a recent book club meeting; it wasn't a novel I'd heard of before and I don't know that it's readily available outside of Canada. The author, Shyam Selvadurai, came to Canada from Sri Lanka when he was nineteen, lives in Toronto, and is himself gay. I found that the character of Balendran, the troubled, gay son of a small-minded, influential man and caught up in the laws of traditional Tamil society which makes honouring the father more important that almost anything else, both refreshing and illuminating. This sounds weird maybe, but I really enjoy reading about homosexual characters, and you just don't get many books that aren't labelled as LGBT fiction, that delve into the lives of LGBT people in such a way (especially historical fiction). It's not like being gay is a new thing - quite the contrary, it's as old as humanity itself - but as a group they're sorely missing from literature. Living in hiding, in fear, in persecution, surely would make not just interesting, intriguing and possibly eye-opening fiction; it would acknowledge the kind of pain Balendran experienced, having to deny a major part of who he is and pretend, fake it, create an illusion at the expense of his own nature. It's not fair to him, it's not fair to Sonia who does actually love her husband, and it's just so sad.
Annalukshmi provided a nice contrast to Balendran, and supplied a glimpse into another oppressive aspect of Ceylonese culture and tradition and laws: the uneasy introduction of feminism and women's rights (or lack thereof). What was especially interesting was how Annalukshmi, who had gained an English education and had, in her way of thinking, moved away from a more traditional Tamil mentality, was not only thwarted in her ambitions by her own society, family, culture and traditions, but by the English themselves. As she learns from her friend Nancy, a low-caste Ceylonese girl who had been orphaned and adopted by Miss Lawton, Miss Lawton herself doesn't think Ceylonese women have the ability or capacity to learn the skills required to be a headmistress - which is Annalukshmi's ambition. While within Ceylon there were so many rules and strictures and laws of tradition that proscribed female behaviour (and everyone's behaviour), the English brought another layer to the picture: that of civilised coloniser who, through a simple education and conversion to Christianity, seeks to "save" the natives and give them a humanity as defined by the British (who wouldn't have acknowledged the Ceylonese any other way) - but never to see them as anything more than the Exotic Other, the civilised savage, a people no more able to rule themselves than they are to handle more complex mental tasks, like running a school.
Annalukshmi goes through quite a process of figuring herself out and deciding what she'll fight for - much as Balendran was, but also different. She's a very relatable character, and it's easy to think of her as a kind of Anne of Green Gables, with her penchant for mischief and disobeying the rules, for striving to be better, for her zest for life. Unwilling to settle, knowing she could never live the life of a sequestered Hindu wife and not interested in being a Christian one either, Annalukshmi does not take the easy road. I can only imagine that her life beyond the book would be a tough one, and it's so tragic to think of what women had to sacrifice - it's always one or the other: family or career, you couldn't have both. It's still like that in so many places, and even in our developed nations, women often end up having to sacrifice their career in order to have a family, especially if they can't afford daycare or a nanny. As someone who greatly values and appreciates the freedoms that I have as a woman today, I love reading about the pioneer women, the women who led the way and fought hard to acquire the vote and other rights: the idea of losing these rights chills me to the bone. So I felt for Annalukshmi, yes I really did.
Many supporting characters have the chance to show their perspectives as well, and shed further light on this society. Take Sonia for example, who was raised English - mostly by her aunt - but still confined by Tamil traditions and laws. In this way she reflects on her marriage to Balendran:
Poor Sonia - I wonder whether her marriage would have been a more positive experience had Balendran not been gay, and not had the father that he did.
In the guise of a simple, very human story I came to learn a lot about the British colony of Ceylon during the 1920s - a pivotal time for the island. I can't say I understand everything, and this is just one slice of the island's history, but Selvadurai does a great job of incorporating the historical context and exposition into the story, making it relevant and comprehensible. It is quite complicated, but it was a good beginner's lesson for me and stirred my interest in the topic. Selvadurai manages to show both the negative - or confused - effects of British colonisation on this old, traditional society, as well as the great strides the people had made in adapting to this new world and making the best of it. Some more than others, of course: if you benefit from a new ruler, you're of course most likely to support them.
Cinnamon Gardens begins slowly, but alternating between Annalukshmi and Balendran it soon picks up and as you get your bearings more and understand the place and the era and the mixed-up culture better, it becomes more interesting. I wasn't as impressed with the writing as I was with the story itself. The storytelling was good, but the flow and pacing was a bit awkward, the prose a bit clunky at times. For a second novel it's a solid work and definitely worth reading, but it's not as polished as it could have been. There are clear signs of skill and talent, and Selvadurai created a colonial, faux-British historical setting that felt very authentic and real. There is a lot going on here about being blinded or repressed by tradition, of being true to yourself despite what society thinks, and standing up for yourself. It's a story about the illusions of civilisation, the things we emphasise as being markers of true nobility and civilisation that are, like everything else, constructs and changeable. And it's a story about love: within the family and without, of sacrifice and obligation, and of treading the fine line between tradition, culture, religion and modernism. A fine achievement in historical fiction.
This caused quite the stir, if not an outright scandal, among their circle. Only girls too poor or too ugly to "catch" a husband need stoop to working as a teacher. "They saw it as a deliberate thumbing of her nose at the prospect of marriage. She might as well have joined a convent. They blamed her wilful, careless nature on both parents." [p.4] Not only does Annalukshmi's pursuit of higher education and work cast a negative light on her parents - though no one has a high opinion of her father, anyway - but her actions, her desire to ride a bicycle and her disinterest in marriage will make it harder for her younger sisters, Kumudini and Manohari, to marry. Annalukshmi has the kind of ambition none of them can understand.
Their neighbour is the Mudaliyar Navaratnam, now seventy, who lives in one of the grandest houses in Cinnamon Gardens. A relative on their paternal grandfather's side, he is an honorary uncle to the Kandiah girls as well as being one of the mudaliyars appointed by the British governor of Ceylon - an appointment based on loyalty to the British Empire. An official who listens to petitioners and has a seat of some kind in parliament, the Mudaliyar was raised as a very spoilt boy who never learnt how to deal with conflict or the needs of others. Years ago he exiled his eldest son for getting a servant girl pregnant - not for having sex with her or the child, but for falling in love with her and marrying her in secret. His own will thwarted, he banished Arul, and the girl Pakkiam, to India, granting him a small allowance but making his entire household, from his wife and younger son to all the servants, to never have any contact with him or speak of him again.
Balendran, the Mudaliyar's youngest son, was raised up in Arul's place. The boys had never been very close so Balendran had no problem putting aside thoughts of Arul - not so his mother, Nalamma. Now forty years old, Balendran has been successful in managing the family estate and temple - in fact the family's wealth and position has never been better because of the changes he made - and he long ago married his cousin Sonia, who is half-English, and had a son of his own, Lukshman, now at university in England. But Balendran has never forgotten - or overcome - his first love, Richard Howland, whom he lived with when he himself was a student in Britain. Twenty years have gone by, and suddenly Balendran is faced with the prospect of seeing Richard again, here, in Colombo.
Richard Howland is accompanying the Donoughmore Constitutional Commission to write a research paper on it, but Balendran's father thinks Richard is part of the commission itself, as an advisor to Dr Drummond Shiels, and wants Balendran to use his past connection and influence to get Richard on the Mudaliyar's side, and thus Dr Shiels. Balendran is deeply torn. He longs to see Richard again, yet is afraid to. Homosexuality is of course forbidden in Ceylonese society, and the Mudaliyar - who came to their home in England and knows exactly what they were doing - has Balendran under his thumb not just with the familial obligations that tie son to father, but with the power of his knowledge as well. His wife Sonia is furious because the Mudaliyar is against self-governemnt and universal franchise (giving the vote to the entire population, regardless of gender or caste), and Balendran would be a hypocrite to promote something he doesn't believe in, on his father's behalf.
But Richard isn't an advisor, he has no influence, and without that manipulation hanging over Balendran he is free to focus on rebuilding his own relationship with Richard. It means opening himself up to his own needs and desires once again, being vulnerable and more aware of the lies he lives.
Both Annalukshmi and Balendran are faced with strong opposition to the lifestyle and freedoms they want, and handle it in slightly different ways. For Annalukshmi, it is a time of shedding her youthful naiveté and seeing more clearly her position in Ceylonese society - not just among her own people and class, but in the eyes of her mentor Miss Lawton as well. She must decide what path she will take, for she cannot have marriage and a career. Balendran must face the family's secrets, their locked-away past, and learn for himself just where his loyalties should lie: with his dictatorial father and his dictates born of fear, or with his own heart, his own conscience. As change bears down on the entire colony, and a new era is on the cusp of being born, these two cousins also go through change and growth, and must decide who they will be on the other side.
I read this for a recent book club meeting; it wasn't a novel I'd heard of before and I don't know that it's readily available outside of Canada. The author, Shyam Selvadurai, came to Canada from Sri Lanka when he was nineteen, lives in Toronto, and is himself gay. I found that the character of Balendran, the troubled, gay son of a small-minded, influential man and caught up in the laws of traditional Tamil society which makes honouring the father more important that almost anything else, both refreshing and illuminating. This sounds weird maybe, but I really enjoy reading about homosexual characters, and you just don't get many books that aren't labelled as LGBT fiction, that delve into the lives of LGBT people in such a way (especially historical fiction). It's not like being gay is a new thing - quite the contrary, it's as old as humanity itself - but as a group they're sorely missing from literature. Living in hiding, in fear, in persecution, surely would make not just interesting, intriguing and possibly eye-opening fiction; it would acknowledge the kind of pain Balendran experienced, having to deny a major part of who he is and pretend, fake it, create an illusion at the expense of his own nature. It's not fair to him, it's not fair to Sonia who does actually love her husband, and it's just so sad.
Annalukshmi provided a nice contrast to Balendran, and supplied a glimpse into another oppressive aspect of Ceylonese culture and tradition and laws: the uneasy introduction of feminism and women's rights (or lack thereof). What was especially interesting was how Annalukshmi, who had gained an English education and had, in her way of thinking, moved away from a more traditional Tamil mentality, was not only thwarted in her ambitions by her own society, family, culture and traditions, but by the English themselves. As she learns from her friend Nancy, a low-caste Ceylonese girl who had been orphaned and adopted by Miss Lawton, Miss Lawton herself doesn't think Ceylonese women have the ability or capacity to learn the skills required to be a headmistress - which is Annalukshmi's ambition. While within Ceylon there were so many rules and strictures and laws of tradition that proscribed female behaviour (and everyone's behaviour), the English brought another layer to the picture: that of civilised coloniser who, through a simple education and conversion to Christianity, seeks to "save" the natives and give them a humanity as defined by the British (who wouldn't have acknowledged the Ceylonese any other way) - but never to see them as anything more than the Exotic Other, the civilised savage, a people no more able to rule themselves than they are to handle more complex mental tasks, like running a school.
Annalukshmi goes through quite a process of figuring herself out and deciding what she'll fight for - much as Balendran was, but also different. She's a very relatable character, and it's easy to think of her as a kind of Anne of Green Gables, with her penchant for mischief and disobeying the rules, for striving to be better, for her zest for life. Unwilling to settle, knowing she could never live the life of a sequestered Hindu wife and not interested in being a Christian one either, Annalukshmi does not take the easy road. I can only imagine that her life beyond the book would be a tough one, and it's so tragic to think of what women had to sacrifice - it's always one or the other: family or career, you couldn't have both. It's still like that in so many places, and even in our developed nations, women often end up having to sacrifice their career in order to have a family, especially if they can't afford daycare or a nanny. As someone who greatly values and appreciates the freedoms that I have as a woman today, I love reading about the pioneer women, the women who led the way and fought hard to acquire the vote and other rights: the idea of losing these rights chills me to the bone. So I felt for Annalukshmi, yes I really did.
Many supporting characters have the chance to show their perspectives as well, and shed further light on this society. Take Sonia for example, who was raised English - mostly by her aunt - but still confined by Tamil traditions and laws. In this way she reflects on her marriage to Balendran:
What a difference there was between her expectations and what her marriage had really turned out to be. She belonged, she knew, to that group of women from Europe who had married non-European men as an escape from the strictures of their world, a refusal to conform. What they did not know, could not have known, was that these men, so outcast in Europe and America, were, in their own land, the very thing women like her were trying to escape. This was what she had not been prepared for. Balendran's unquestioning obedience to familial and social dictates, his formality even in their lovemaking, his insistence that they maintain separate bedrooms. [pp.79-80]
Poor Sonia - I wonder whether her marriage would have been a more positive experience had Balendran not been gay, and not had the father that he did.
In the guise of a simple, very human story I came to learn a lot about the British colony of Ceylon during the 1920s - a pivotal time for the island. I can't say I understand everything, and this is just one slice of the island's history, but Selvadurai does a great job of incorporating the historical context and exposition into the story, making it relevant and comprehensible. It is quite complicated, but it was a good beginner's lesson for me and stirred my interest in the topic. Selvadurai manages to show both the negative - or confused - effects of British colonisation on this old, traditional society, as well as the great strides the people had made in adapting to this new world and making the best of it. Some more than others, of course: if you benefit from a new ruler, you're of course most likely to support them.
Cinnamon Gardens begins slowly, but alternating between Annalukshmi and Balendran it soon picks up and as you get your bearings more and understand the place and the era and the mixed-up culture better, it becomes more interesting. I wasn't as impressed with the writing as I was with the story itself. The storytelling was good, but the flow and pacing was a bit awkward, the prose a bit clunky at times. For a second novel it's a solid work and definitely worth reading, but it's not as polished as it could have been. There are clear signs of skill and talent, and Selvadurai created a colonial, faux-British historical setting that felt very authentic and real. There is a lot going on here about being blinded or repressed by tradition, of being true to yourself despite what society thinks, and standing up for yourself. It's a story about the illusions of civilisation, the things we emphasise as being markers of true nobility and civilisation that are, like everything else, constructs and changeable. And it's a story about love: within the family and without, of sacrifice and obligation, and of treading the fine line between tradition, culture, religion and modernism. A fine achievement in historical fiction.
September 6, 2015
For some reason I expected this to be a dense, literary sort of book, which it is not. In fact it is light historical fiction, an easy and quick read that should appeal to the popular imagination; I’m surprised it’s as little-known as it is.
In 1920s Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon), Annalukshmi is a young teacher, more interested in career advancement than finding a suitable husband, to the chagrin of the upper-class society to which she belongs. Her uncle, Balendran, appears to be a respectable middle-aged husband and diligent son, but is secretly gay. The plot involves the reappearance of Balendran’s long-lost lover and Annalukshmi’s family’s attempts to marry her off.
Selvadurai is a good storyteller: this is an entertaining book with sympathetic characters, and I read it fairly quickly. It is on the fluffy side though; the characterization is not especially deep, nor is there anything particularly fresh in its standard “forbidden love” and “independent woman wants more from life than her society offers” plotlines. Sure, there aren’t many books out there by and about gay South Asian men, but Balendran’s plot still reads like a standard “forbidden love” story; little would have changed had he been in love instead with a woman other than his wife. Even his conservative father seems more upset by Balendran’s brother’s choice of a lower-class wife than with Balendran’s sexuality.
In fact, the one unusual element of this book is the ending:
So, the overall effect of the book is underwhelming. Add to that the writing, which is accessible but has a noticeable number of grammatical errors. On the other hand, the setting is interesting and colorfully drawn. Ultimately, this is a fine book for light reading; just don’t expect anything more.
In 1920s Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon), Annalukshmi is a young teacher, more interested in career advancement than finding a suitable husband, to the chagrin of the upper-class society to which she belongs. Her uncle, Balendran, appears to be a respectable middle-aged husband and diligent son, but is secretly gay. The plot involves the reappearance of Balendran’s long-lost lover and Annalukshmi’s family’s attempts to marry her off.
Selvadurai is a good storyteller: this is an entertaining book with sympathetic characters, and I read it fairly quickly. It is on the fluffy side though; the characterization is not especially deep, nor is there anything particularly fresh in its standard “forbidden love” and “independent woman wants more from life than her society offers” plotlines. Sure, there aren’t many books out there by and about gay South Asian men, but Balendran’s plot still reads like a standard “forbidden love” story; little would have changed had he been in love instead with a woman other than his wife. Even his conservative father seems more upset by Balendran’s brother’s choice of a lower-class wife than with Balendran’s sexuality.
In fact, the one unusual element of this book is the ending:
So, the overall effect of the book is underwhelming. Add to that the writing, which is accessible but has a noticeable number of grammatical errors. On the other hand, the setting is interesting and colorfully drawn. Ultimately, this is a fine book for light reading; just don’t expect anything more.
November 2, 2010
Purely Excellent for all one may learn & retain...
This novel did overly use one of my all-time favorite words: VERANDAH. However, it's still worth taking the time to get lost in the authors' world. It took me to a new culture and another part of a dramatic world. It's interesting how a world apart is really so much the same in any world. There were two story lines about an uncle & his niece that merged into one as if a masterpiece. Each chapter began with a profound verse from the Tirukkarul. I am utterly excited about finding his first award-winning first novel called Funny Boy. The research done is apparent. There were so many wonderful lines in this book. Here are a few of my favorites:
The different stages of a man's life are often reflected in the guests he invites to his annual dinner.
...choices are never easy.
But what life is without its regrets.
They're, you know...inverts. 'Friends of Oscar', as Aunty Ethel used to say.
You disappoint me to the very core.
...I always knew that man was a snake in the grass.
The last part of a novel was always her favorite.
As you well know, when people act according to their opinions they can end up ruining other lives.
I refuse to let our friendship end as it stands...In silence.
Yet, simultaneous with this love, he felt a burning shame.
I, too, have things in my life that I keep hidden from others.
Certain wrongs must be righted.
...we might, through our letters, strengthen the bond between us...AND MANY MORE!
This novel did overly use one of my all-time favorite words: VERANDAH. However, it's still worth taking the time to get lost in the authors' world. It took me to a new culture and another part of a dramatic world. It's interesting how a world apart is really so much the same in any world. There were two story lines about an uncle & his niece that merged into one as if a masterpiece. Each chapter began with a profound verse from the Tirukkarul. I am utterly excited about finding his first award-winning first novel called Funny Boy. The research done is apparent. There were so many wonderful lines in this book. Here are a few of my favorites:
The different stages of a man's life are often reflected in the guests he invites to his annual dinner.
...choices are never easy.
But what life is without its regrets.
They're, you know...inverts. 'Friends of Oscar', as Aunty Ethel used to say.
You disappoint me to the very core.
...I always knew that man was a snake in the grass.
The last part of a novel was always her favorite.
As you well know, when people act according to their opinions they can end up ruining other lives.
I refuse to let our friendship end as it stands...In silence.
Yet, simultaneous with this love, he felt a burning shame.
I, too, have things in my life that I keep hidden from others.
Certain wrongs must be righted.
...we might, through our letters, strengthen the bond between us...AND MANY MORE!
June 11, 2010
I found this a fascinating read, partly because I had only just finished “Burmese Days” by George Orwell and the parallels are easy to see, even though it was obvious that they come from completely different directions. Both books deal with the English Raj – one in Burma, one in Ceylon – but one is written from the point of view of the priviledged and ruling whites, whilst Cinnamon Gardens is written from the point of the view of the privileged native population of Ceylon.
I knew next to nothing about Ceylon (this is set in the late 1920′s) and the insight that Selvadurai gives is like looking through a plate glass window into a world that none of us will ever know – like Mitchell’s land of knights and ladies, this is a another culture that is gone with the wind. However, although the blurb went on to say that it was a world where no-one can breathe freely, I didn’t really get an overwhelming sense of that, I was never really convinced that any of the characters (save for Belandran whose “face” is tremendous against the weight of love, responsibility, duty and family) were crushed and overwhelmed by position, caste or race. Not even the orthodox wives.
It seems from what I learned along the journey that the wealthy Ceylon of this time (for you don’t see the poverty in this book, the POV is purely from two rich people) were more racially integrated than I had seen in books dealing with other Asian countries; they intermarried with whites, and set themselves up as English, becoming Christian in many cases and changing their names to English names. In some instances the characters are related – and are seemingly accepted by- English aristocracy. Belandran’s wife visits a titled relative in England at one point.
After having read Burmese Days where the middle class whites consider the Burmans to be nothing but “niggers” this came as a surprise. I don’t doubt the author’s research – the afterword stated that he’d spent a year in Sri Lanka researching the book, and he was a native of the country, only leaving when he was 19. It was just a little surprising, that’s all.
What struck me was the complete LACK of the perception of colour and the barriers that it must, surely have made, in the book itself. Annalukshimi is a a school mistress under a headmistress called Miss Lawton, but you can’t assume that Miss Lawton is white – you only find that out later on, when Annalukshimi realises that her ambition to teach will be limited to the colour of her skin, no matter that Miss Lawton is helping to raise the education of girls in the Country. There’s Miss Lawton’s ward – Nancy – who I assume was white but turned out not to be. Because of the English names of a lot of the Ceylonese, it continued to be difficult to tell who was white and who was not. I was simply surprised that it did not seem to matter as much as it did in Burmese Days and other colonial books such as Passage to India and Jewel in the Crown
I was determined not to like Balendran because he had left behind his lover in England and “done the right thing”, followed his father’s dictates and had come back to Ceylon and married. But somehow he softened my resistance, and I couldn’t help, by the time the inevitable bitter sweet ending rolled around, to love him deeply for he had managed to make some kind of peace with himself in spite of all the obstacles he faced. His relationship with Richard was infinitely touching and there’s a moment in the hearing scene where I completely melted.
However, there was a niggling feeling that the characters held a little too much modern sensibility. One of the messages in the book (if I’m reading it right) was to show how Ceylon was taking its first steps to self rule and how the generational shift and education of its young people was helping that along, but it was slightly blurred for me that the young people did as they liked anyway and no-one seemed to care all that much.
The writing is fine – not (in my opinion, obviously) a masterpiece, but deftly done. There was, at times, a little TOO much description of saris and furniture and rooms and I had a Dan Brown flashback and felt that the author was so very intent on painting this world for the reader that he went a little too far.
The politics behind the whole regime change is interesting and detailed, although, again, there were a few times where I felt the the author was info dumping and it was refreshing when several of the characters were showing no interest in the politics, which felt very real to me. One of them even criticises Ghandi!
However, that being said – I do recommend it. It’s absorbing and I don’t think you’ll be able to put it down once started. The characters stayed with me, and more than anything I’d like to sit down with the author and talk to him about it, and I haven’t wanted to do that for a while. Perhaps it’s a bit too short, or perhaps it’s the niggling modernism of the characters but I came away having enjoyed being in Cinnamon Gardens but ultimately a little unsatisfied.
I knew next to nothing about Ceylon (this is set in the late 1920′s) and the insight that Selvadurai gives is like looking through a plate glass window into a world that none of us will ever know – like Mitchell’s land of knights and ladies, this is a another culture that is gone with the wind. However, although the blurb went on to say that it was a world where no-one can breathe freely, I didn’t really get an overwhelming sense of that, I was never really convinced that any of the characters (save for Belandran whose “face” is tremendous against the weight of love, responsibility, duty and family) were crushed and overwhelmed by position, caste or race. Not even the orthodox wives.
It seems from what I learned along the journey that the wealthy Ceylon of this time (for you don’t see the poverty in this book, the POV is purely from two rich people) were more racially integrated than I had seen in books dealing with other Asian countries; they intermarried with whites, and set themselves up as English, becoming Christian in many cases and changing their names to English names. In some instances the characters are related – and are seemingly accepted by- English aristocracy. Belandran’s wife visits a titled relative in England at one point.
After having read Burmese Days where the middle class whites consider the Burmans to be nothing but “niggers” this came as a surprise. I don’t doubt the author’s research – the afterword stated that he’d spent a year in Sri Lanka researching the book, and he was a native of the country, only leaving when he was 19. It was just a little surprising, that’s all.
What struck me was the complete LACK of the perception of colour and the barriers that it must, surely have made, in the book itself. Annalukshimi is a a school mistress under a headmistress called Miss Lawton, but you can’t assume that Miss Lawton is white – you only find that out later on, when Annalukshimi realises that her ambition to teach will be limited to the colour of her skin, no matter that Miss Lawton is helping to raise the education of girls in the Country. There’s Miss Lawton’s ward – Nancy – who I assume was white but turned out not to be. Because of the English names of a lot of the Ceylonese, it continued to be difficult to tell who was white and who was not. I was simply surprised that it did not seem to matter as much as it did in Burmese Days and other colonial books such as Passage to India and Jewel in the Crown
I was determined not to like Balendran because he had left behind his lover in England and “done the right thing”, followed his father’s dictates and had come back to Ceylon and married. But somehow he softened my resistance, and I couldn’t help, by the time the inevitable bitter sweet ending rolled around, to love him deeply for he had managed to make some kind of peace with himself in spite of all the obstacles he faced. His relationship with Richard was infinitely touching and there’s a moment in the hearing scene where I completely melted.
However, there was a niggling feeling that the characters held a little too much modern sensibility. One of the messages in the book (if I’m reading it right) was to show how Ceylon was taking its first steps to self rule and how the generational shift and education of its young people was helping that along, but it was slightly blurred for me that the young people did as they liked anyway and no-one seemed to care all that much.
The writing is fine – not (in my opinion, obviously) a masterpiece, but deftly done. There was, at times, a little TOO much description of saris and furniture and rooms and I had a Dan Brown flashback and felt that the author was so very intent on painting this world for the reader that he went a little too far.
The politics behind the whole regime change is interesting and detailed, although, again, there were a few times where I felt the the author was info dumping and it was refreshing when several of the characters were showing no interest in the politics, which felt very real to me. One of them even criticises Ghandi!
However, that being said – I do recommend it. It’s absorbing and I don’t think you’ll be able to put it down once started. The characters stayed with me, and more than anything I’d like to sit down with the author and talk to him about it, and I haven’t wanted to do that for a while. Perhaps it’s a bit too short, or perhaps it’s the niggling modernism of the characters but I came away having enjoyed being in Cinnamon Gardens but ultimately a little unsatisfied.
April 9, 2021
3.5
La trama de este libro esta ubicada en el barrio residencial "Jardines de Canela" de la capital de Sri Lanka (Colombo).
Una zona de clase alta, donde la importancia de las apariencias y el estatus dentro de la sociedad son prioritarios.
La historia se centra en dos de sus personajes: Annalukshmi y Balendran. Ambos, sobrina y tio, con inquietudes y naturalezas que van en contra de las normas establecidas por la sociedad en la que viven.
El ansia de educación y de autonomía de la primera, chocan con lo establecido para una joven tamil de buena familia, cuyo unico objetivo en la vida es casarse y tener hijos.
Por su parte, Balendran, heredero de uno de los hombres más influyentes de la ciudad, se ve obligado a esconder su naturaleza homosexual, y formar una familia para cumplir lo que se espera de él.
A lo largo de la historia, ambos se rebelan y luchan para poder mantener sus posiciones, con mejores y peores resultados.
Me ha parecido una novela entretenida, que refleja muy bien la vida entre las clases privilegiadas del pais durante la epoca colonial británica. La admiración que estas sentian por la cultura y la tradición inglesa, y al mismo tiempo, las ganas de autonomía y autogobierno.
La trama de este libro esta ubicada en el barrio residencial "Jardines de Canela" de la capital de Sri Lanka (Colombo).
Una zona de clase alta, donde la importancia de las apariencias y el estatus dentro de la sociedad son prioritarios.
La historia se centra en dos de sus personajes: Annalukshmi y Balendran. Ambos, sobrina y tio, con inquietudes y naturalezas que van en contra de las normas establecidas por la sociedad en la que viven.
El ansia de educación y de autonomía de la primera, chocan con lo establecido para una joven tamil de buena familia, cuyo unico objetivo en la vida es casarse y tener hijos.
Por su parte, Balendran, heredero de uno de los hombres más influyentes de la ciudad, se ve obligado a esconder su naturaleza homosexual, y formar una familia para cumplir lo que se espera de él.
A lo largo de la historia, ambos se rebelan y luchan para poder mantener sus posiciones, con mejores y peores resultados.
Me ha parecido una novela entretenida, que refleja muy bien la vida entre las clases privilegiadas del pais durante la epoca colonial británica. La admiración que estas sentian por la cultura y la tradición inglesa, y al mismo tiempo, las ganas de autonomía y autogobierno.
June 9, 2016
This was so good! Really about two characters, Annalukshmi and Balendran, at different stages of their lives, both learning how to control their own lives, mixed in with a larger conversation about universal franchisement. It was interesting and I was really invested in them both finding a way to be at peace with themselves and their choices.
The other great thing about the novel was the sibling relationships, Annalukshmi and her sisters were really different but also formed a cohesive whole that was never spelled out but very present. Balendran's life in someways revolved around his brother Arul and what had happened with him when Balendran was 12, almost all Balendran's behaviour was slightly tinged by the trauma of his brother being banished and yet it was portrayed with a really light touch and the relationship when it did resume was very meaningful.
All told, very lovely indeed!
The other great thing about the novel was the sibling relationships, Annalukshmi and her sisters were really different but also formed a cohesive whole that was never spelled out but very present. Balendran's life in someways revolved around his brother Arul and what had happened with him when Balendran was 12, almost all Balendran's behaviour was slightly tinged by the trauma of his brother being banished and yet it was portrayed with a really light touch and the relationship when it did resume was very meaningful.
All told, very lovely indeed!
November 30, 2020
While searching for a book set in the 1920s I stumbled upon Cinnamon Gardens. I was immediately intrigued by the description of storylines centered around race, class, women’s rights, and a historically set queer experience. My intrigue grew when I received the book in the mail (I love a hardback with a picture, but no dust jacket). Once I started reading I was quickly drawn in. The air of romance coupled with the struggle for characters to meet social/familial expectations reminded me of reading Jane Austen (whom I adore). Cinnamon Gardens was contemplative, sad, hopeful, and beautifully written. I will definitely be reading more by Shyam Selvadurai! (Spoilerish Note: though this book has a romantic tone at times, it is not a “happily ever after” type of romance.)
February 23, 2022
Novela histórica ambientada en Ceylán, hoy Sri Lanka , donde el autor describe como era la vida en los años 20's del siglo pasado, en una nación que está luchando por ser independiente de la corona británica, donde todo está basado en las apariencias y en los modelos propios de la época. También describe la incipiente lucha de las mujeres por obtener más libertades en una sociedad patriarcal.
February 15, 2023
Rep: Sri Lankan cast & setting, gay mc
CWs: colourism, casteism, homophobia
CWs: colourism, casteism, homophobia
October 9, 2014
Shyam Selvadurai does for Sri Lanka what Vikram Seth does for India. He weaves in the social, political, cultural and historical events of an era into a family drama and presents to you the story of people and a country. The book entwines many strong plots to make a well-structured and well written story - the marriage and search for suitable grooms, politics of the British on acknowledgement of universal franchise, freedom of Sri Lanka, ending era of rich landlords and emerging labour rights, clashes of Tamils and Sinhalese, gay relationship between an Englishman and a heir to a conservative patriarch, exploitation of the poor, family boycotts, taboo of inter caste marriage, influence of Christian missionaries, liberalisation of women, etc. Too many plots if not ably handled can prove disastrous with the book becoming a sad attempt at literature and storytelling but turning out to be a potpourri of popular ideals and ideals to meet various audiences.
To read more, click here:
http://storywala.blogspot.in/2012/12/...
To read more, click here:
http://storywala.blogspot.in/2012/12/...
May 10, 2010
Ok, so Selvadurai ain't Vikram Seth. And he's hitting you over the head with how Victorian the book he's writing is, even though it's set in 1920's Ceylon. And he's trying very hard to show you he knows and cares about women's, minorities', gay, and labor rights (thankfully, he missed animal rights). And he can't write a sex scene to save his life; "arousal" as a euphemism is no better than "quivering manhood," etc. But for all its frothiness, the book was extremely enjoyable because Selvadurai knows how to create complex and memorable characters, observe realia carefully, maintain the suspense, and make a meaningful conclusion.
September 8, 2018
such opulent writing ( i dont know if that makes sense but i hope you catch my drift) about Sri Lanka/Ceylon and Colombo!! First time reading about Colombo and Sri Lankan Tamils that I can find more books that match up to this very high standard that has been set for me now. everything is so well described and all the characters are so thoroughly explored. I'm so happy i read this!!!
December 11, 2018
An Asian "Little Women". Nice, in multiple ways
August 8, 2007
Ever since I read Selvadurai’s Funny Boy some years ago, I've wanted to lay my hands on his second book, Cinnamon Gardens. However, it was only recently that I got to it and having read it, I’ll say that though it does not wholly match Funny Boy in its thematic significance or innocence, it still makes for easy, enjoyable and elegant reading -- a Selvadurai trademark by the way.
Unlike Funny Boy, where words flow fast and furious into the pages, in Cinnamon Gardens, the language and style appear much more rehearsed and there’s a certain consciousness to the writing even.
In many ways, Cinnamon Gardens is mostly a novel of manners set in Sri Lanka’s wealthy suburb in the 1920s. And the fact that Selvadurai is so greatly influenced by Jane Austen, borrowing not just the central theme of Pride And Prejudice but also trying to recreate the same period aura, makes one feel as if one were reading an eighteen century British family drama.
From a critical stand point, one can argue about whether the settings can be alternated in this manner but again, it seems like Selvadurai has done his research on this Sri Lanka period and specifically about families who stayed in Cinnamon Gardens (yes, it actually existed!) to "get a sense of what went on beneath the polished veneer"
......guys, can't put the whole review here but for those interested, you could visit my blog, sandyi.blogspot.com
Unlike Funny Boy, where words flow fast and furious into the pages, in Cinnamon Gardens, the language and style appear much more rehearsed and there’s a certain consciousness to the writing even.
In many ways, Cinnamon Gardens is mostly a novel of manners set in Sri Lanka’s wealthy suburb in the 1920s. And the fact that Selvadurai is so greatly influenced by Jane Austen, borrowing not just the central theme of Pride And Prejudice but also trying to recreate the same period aura, makes one feel as if one were reading an eighteen century British family drama.
From a critical stand point, one can argue about whether the settings can be alternated in this manner but again, it seems like Selvadurai has done his research on this Sri Lanka period and specifically about families who stayed in Cinnamon Gardens (yes, it actually existed!) to "get a sense of what went on beneath the polished veneer"
......guys, can't put the whole review here but for those interested, you could visit my blog, sandyi.blogspot.com
July 1, 2018
Lush and evocative setting, and I liked Annalukshmi's story but never quite warmed to Balendran, who struck me as too much of a wet blanket tbh. Also found the narrative a bit stiff and exposition-heavy.
March 2, 2024
What a delight Cinnamon Gardens is. I'm so glad to have stumbled across this book! It is historical fiction to be sure -- the year is 1927, the place is Ceylon. The context is that Ceylon is on the cusp of change, deciding whether things such as universal franchisement, union labour, and caste systems belong in its future.
Parallel stories ensue of two Cinnamon Garden residents, our two protagonists who are a generation apart but related (it's somewhat unclear as to whether their relationship is by blood or familiarity). Annalukshmi is who we are introduced to first. She is the oldest of 3 sisters, a teacher, and determined to not be married. She idolizes her English headmistress, values reading literature, and rolls her eyes at her sisters and their marriage goals. Balendran, her uncle, is the other of our main characters. Balendran has both internal and external struggles he is navigating, not least of which is his self-acceptance as a married man who is attracted to other men, and he mourns the loss of a previous relationship which he sacrificed to maintain his status, class, and wealth. The continual abrasion of his father, a local respected leader, and the clash of their values also chips away at his esteem.
Each of these plots progresses throughout the full scope of the calendar year, with ample dips and turns, including a handful of remarkable plot twists and tender, poignant moments. The final chapters are edge-of-your-seat page-turners, with a satisfying resolution.
Selvadurai has treated his characters with so much dignity, poise, and depth that it's hard not to think about them as you go about your day washing dishes and eating lunch. Not only did I learn a lot about the historical context of modern day Sri Lanka, but I also feel I better understand some of the sensitivities of that time period, mired as they were in colonialism, repression, and inequality.
Parallel stories ensue of two Cinnamon Garden residents, our two protagonists who are a generation apart but related (it's somewhat unclear as to whether their relationship is by blood or familiarity). Annalukshmi is who we are introduced to first. She is the oldest of 3 sisters, a teacher, and determined to not be married. She idolizes her English headmistress, values reading literature, and rolls her eyes at her sisters and their marriage goals. Balendran, her uncle, is the other of our main characters. Balendran has both internal and external struggles he is navigating, not least of which is his self-acceptance as a married man who is attracted to other men, and he mourns the loss of a previous relationship which he sacrificed to maintain his status, class, and wealth. The continual abrasion of his father, a local respected leader, and the clash of their values also chips away at his esteem.
Each of these plots progresses throughout the full scope of the calendar year, with ample dips and turns, including a handful of remarkable plot twists and tender, poignant moments. The final chapters are edge-of-your-seat page-turners, with a satisfying resolution.
Selvadurai has treated his characters with so much dignity, poise, and depth that it's hard not to think about them as you go about your day washing dishes and eating lunch. Not only did I learn a lot about the historical context of modern day Sri Lanka, but I also feel I better understand some of the sensitivities of that time period, mired as they were in colonialism, repression, and inequality.
March 26, 2017
Selvadurai has the rare ability to keep the reader hooked on to his narrative of a completely ordinary occurrence like child's play or a casual meeting of two parties. His character descriptions are vivid and powerful in a way that you tend to quickly picture the facial features of a person or the colours of one's saree. So easy to read as the story flows effortlessly, never failing to lose its charm.
One of the main characteristics of Selva's novels is his endings. They are completely realistic. His characters are ordinary people, he portrays their emotions in the most human way and they do not end up finding magical solutions to their problems. His stories end in an accepting tone. His characters end up understanding their own realities and accepting life, which is what all of us are left to do in the end.
One of the main characteristics of Selva's novels is his endings. They are completely realistic. His characters are ordinary people, he portrays their emotions in the most human way and they do not end up finding magical solutions to their problems. His stories end in an accepting tone. His characters end up understanding their own realities and accepting life, which is what all of us are left to do in the end.
Read
June 8, 2018For #PrideMonth and the #PrideReads meme, I’m digging back in my reading history to signal boost queer books I loved. Cinnamon Gardens is high on my list. I like family sagas, stories that acquaint me with history and culture I didn’t know much about, and gay portrayals. CG has all of that, and it’s a gripping and emotional story that had me enchanted from start to finish.
July 3, 2019
Beautiful setting with just the right combo of political, social, and human nature.
January 2, 2021
Unusual book set in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) wonderfully atmospheric, and seething with conflict. A great read. please go to http://thebooksmithblog.wordpress.com for full review
November 7, 2021
What a wonderful read! It was so hard to put the book down! Loved the descriptions of Colombo in early years. The way of life back in the day (1920s) being so simple yet the harsh societal barriers makes you wonder if you’d rather live a life similar to that time?
The characters in the book are beautiful portrayed. Each and every character brings out a different view on life.
A must read!
The characters in the book are beautiful portrayed. Each and every character brings out a different view on life.
A must read!
February 9, 2022
Shyam Selvadurai's Cinnamon Gardens is one of those gems in the Indian Writing in English that opens door to freedom and liberty. A must read!
January 16, 2022
An ambitious heroine wants to work as a teacher despite her family's decision to marry her off. What's the catch, you ask? My dear reader, if she gets married, she will have to resign from her position. Not only that. She would have to abandon all her dreams and aspirations for the sake of becoming a housewife, a perfect wife. However, Annalukshmi's tale isn't the only one present in the book, right? You see, there is also the heroine's closeted, married gay uncle, who one day discovers the love of his life is arriving on the island. And what about the estranged family branches scheming from afar?
I think the author put a lot of his own struggles into Balderan's experience. While Balendran's point of view is the strongest, in later chapters it doesn't matter much. By then, Annalukshmi's parts are better/more interesting. I couldn't put the book away in the end!
I confess I was here for the drama! You know, the inevitable family drama, the fallout in-making! The second confession, I enjoyed it much, much more than "The Hungry Ghosts".
December 13, 2015
Five stars out of five to CINNAMON GARDENS, which has made a late bid for entry to my Top 5 list of best novels I've read this year. Mmmm I've been rereading it it, because it was just so delightful - to begin with, it addresses themes of race and gender and class and caste and colonialism in 1920s Ceylon, has the best protagonists, one of whom is queer, and has that easy (solemn and solid and lyrical) writing style that was enough to make me like it, but I hit a point halfway through the novel where I just got very INVESTED and, wow.
So I'm a little embarrassed making this comparison, but it has to be said: the novel is kind of Austen-ish in the way it takes on social mores of the gentility, although with less of the regulated hatred and a little more class anger to it. I mean!!! I don't think it is entirely a coincidence that you have a novel set in this very Austen-ish milieu with people trying desperately to keep up appearances and follow social codes, and there are all these self-conscious references to Victorian writers like Dickens and Eliot and Bronte but Austen's not mentioned once, because to do so would be too obvious. The other thing aside from the fact that Selvadurai's characters are a little more serious about society than Austen's narrator ever lets her characters be, is that Selvadurai never lets his characters off for a happy ending - their endings aren't unhappy, per se, but instead they choose to be brave and to do the right thing. I appreciated Balendran's and Annalukshmi's conclusions, very, very much. (Especially Annalukshmi, because with Balendran you just kind of thought 'oh fuck, please don't give him a gay tragic ending' so an equivocally-happy ending wasn't the most radical thing. With Annalukshmi )
Anyway, I really loved this novel, and will DEFINITELY be checking out Shyam Selvadurai's other works. The other thing is that although the novel never attains (and was really never aiming for) Austen's sharp-tongued satire, there are some REALLY funny bits in here about overweening aunts and social expectations and families, most of the best lines from Manohari (I love Manohari):
So I'm a little embarrassed making this comparison, but it has to be said: the novel is kind of Austen-ish in the way it takes on social mores of the gentility, although with less of the regulated hatred and a little more class anger to it. I mean!!! I don't think it is entirely a coincidence that you have a novel set in this very Austen-ish milieu with people trying desperately to keep up appearances and follow social codes, and there are all these self-conscious references to Victorian writers like Dickens and Eliot and Bronte but Austen's not mentioned once, because to do so would be too obvious. The other thing aside from the fact that Selvadurai's characters are a little more serious about society than Austen's narrator ever lets her characters be, is that Selvadurai never lets his characters off for a happy ending - their endings aren't unhappy, per se, but instead they choose to be brave and to do the right thing. I appreciated Balendran's and Annalukshmi's conclusions, very, very much. (Especially Annalukshmi, because with Balendran you just kind of thought 'oh fuck, please don't give him a gay tragic ending' so an equivocally-happy ending wasn't the most radical thing. With Annalukshmi )
Anyway, I really loved this novel, and will DEFINITELY be checking out Shyam Selvadurai's other works. The other thing is that although the novel never attains (and was really never aiming for) Austen's sharp-tongued satire, there are some REALLY funny bits in here about overweening aunts and social expectations and families, most of the best lines from Manohari (I love Manohari):
"He's run away, cousin," Philomena said. "The dirty, dirty fellow has run away."
Louisa cried out in horror.
"Akka has been abandoned," Manohari exclaimed. "Deserted like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations."
This was too much for Louisa. She slapped Manohari, sat down in a chair, and burst into tears.
January 27, 2018
I now have a new favorite author in Shyam Selvadurai. Shyam's writing draws you in and lays bare every character's secret, intimacy, and torment. Shyam's book is about the politics of power, race, class, caste, and gender in the 1920s of Sri Lanka and it is no different from the politics of today. His characters continue to be oppressed- one of them trying to be "normal" where people do not understand homosexuality, and the other going through the upheaval of hoping "he is the right one" to losing that hope in the next few pages. I really liked Annalukshmi's character because Shyam did not make the pursuit of a man to be central to her life's happiness. Instead Annalukshmi does not settle and demonstrates a remarkable amount of level-headedness in deciding with whom she does or does not want to spend the rest of her life.
I liked how Bala's character grew more assertive and finally confronts his father's about his hypocrisies in demanding the perseverance of etiquette and rules from others, and yet discretely disregarding them by his sexual exploits with low-caste women.
I kept wondering whether Bala ever reveals his secret to his wife, Sonia about his homosexuality. I wish Shyam had spent time on Sonia's character. I would have loved to have gotten to know her, whether she ever suspected or knew about her husband and his lost lover.
The ending of the book did not seem like an ending, and it is for this very reason that I loved it. It is instead is a testament to how life continues to ravel and unravel even after supposedly "the end". In real life, there is no ending, is it? There are events and we continue to move on, despite, and even because of these events. All in all, a marvelous book.
I liked how Bala's character grew more assertive and finally confronts his father's about his hypocrisies in demanding the perseverance of etiquette and rules from others, and yet discretely disregarding them by his sexual exploits with low-caste women.
I kept wondering whether Bala ever reveals his secret to his wife, Sonia about his homosexuality. I wish Shyam had spent time on Sonia's character. I would have loved to have gotten to know her, whether she ever suspected or knew about her husband and his lost lover.
The ending of the book did not seem like an ending, and it is for this very reason that I loved it. It is instead is a testament to how life continues to ravel and unravel even after supposedly "the end". In real life, there is no ending, is it? There are events and we continue to move on, despite, and even because of these events. All in all, a marvelous book.
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