Anuk Arudpragasam

I simply fell in love with this book. It's so artfully crafted and beautifully written. It's a personal love story, where the fine threads of a young man's memories of lost love weave through myths and questions as he travels through Sri Lanka. All the while he is traveling to the funeral of a loved one, where he presents a tender narrative about life and dying.

I loved this author's long, poetic sentences, his gentle style even as he presented details of a violent and harsh war that ravaged his country.… (more)

Rating: 4/5

TW: Death, PTSD

A book that takes you through a journey of reflecting upon life and accepting the process of death, A PASSAGE NORTH, is one of the most indulging piece of fiction I have read this year.

Devoid of dialogue with sentences that last pages, Anuk Arudpragasam managed to deliver topics that felt so personal and hit me with waves of nostalgia more than once. The book, divided into 3 sections - Message, Journey and Burning begins with the MC, Krishan, receiving the news of demise of his grandmother's care-taker, Rani over a phone call.

What follows is a trip to the ever-so philosophical mind of Krishan where he recollects, introspects and comes to terms with several aspects of his past and the death of Rani.

Mundane things such as taking a walk, smoking a cigarette, travelling on a train are explained in such detail that you will be transported to the said circumstances and will not be able to help but relate with them.

The MC reflects on his previous relationship with Anjum, a queer woman from Bangalore, his train journey with her, his grand mother's daily routine and past few years of her life, the conversations he has had with Rani regarding the loss she has faced in the war and it's impact on her mental health and many more while taking a train to attend Rani's funeral.

The detail in which the MC remembers little moments he had shared with his then girlfriend and a few with his grand-mother on multiple instances in the book, reiterates how impactful these little moments are and how such memories have a silent power to shape us.

I related so much to how he processed Rani's death, having gone through a similar process with the death of my grand father.

It was also interesting to learn about the struggle for freedom in Sri Lanka, their Hindu funeral rituals and how similar they are to that of India.

Overall, the book encapsulated a lot of emotions and thoughts that will stay imbibed in your mind for a while. A great book to read and definitely a contender for the short-list!

I am extremely thankful to the author for referencing the stories and poems that he had explained in such detail with respect to how the MC had perceived it in the acknowledgements. It will be helpful in a journey to find, read and interpret those stories with our own minds.… (more)