Wikipedia

The Story of a Brief Marriage

The Story of a Brief Marriage is the debut novel by Anuk Arudpragasam which was published on September 6, 2016 by Flatiron Books.[1]

The Story of a Brief Marriage
First edition cover
AuthorAnuk Arudpragasam
LanguageEnglish
PublisherFlatiron Books
Publication date
September 6, 2016
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages193
ISBN978-1-250-07240-5
OCLC932576767
823/.92
LC ClassPR9440.9.A78 S86 2016

Synopsis edit

The novel, written between 2011 and 2014, describes a day and a night in the lives of two young Tamils, Dinesh and Ganga, who are forced into a marriage as the Sri Lankan army intensifies its bombardment of the camp on the north-eastern coast where they are taking refuge. "I grew up in the south of Sri Lanka in a well-off family, as insulated as someone could be from the war," Arudpragasam told Guernica magazine. "It was an attempt to cross certain kinds of differences in experience between myself and these many other people in the north of the country who I had become separated from."[2]

Reception edit

Randy Boyagoda of The Guardian wrote it as "A debut novel which raises timely questions about how we regard the suffering of others",[3] Bárbara Mujica of Washington Independent Review of Books wrote "Still, The Story of a Brief Marriage is a worthwhile read. It turns our focus not only on the brutality of war, but also on the blessing of life.",[4] Novelist Colm Toibin praised Arudpragasam's dense and attentive style: "Every image in the book, including the most desolate, is rendered with precision and an aura of pure truth and tenderness.",[5] Neera Majumdar of ThePrint wrote "The Story of a Brief Marriage is delicate, unsparing, and depicts the Sri Lankan civil war through the lens of the mortal human body."[6] Arifa Akbar of Financial Times wrote "A remarkable debut novel about a young Sri Lankan couple at a time of bloody civil war".[7]

The book was listed as one of the best novels of 2016 by The Wall Street Journal,[8] NPR,[9] and the Financial Times.[10]

The book has been also reviewed by Ru Freeman of The New York Times,[11] Rohini Mohan of The Hindu,[12] Nilakantan R.S. of The Indian Wire,[13] Sarah Gilmartin of The Irish Times,[14] Supriya Nair of Mint[15] and Elizabeth Stark of The Rumpus.[16]

Awards and nominations edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam. Flatiron, $24.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-250-07240-5". Publishers Weekly. July 11, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Hoenicke, Sarah (January 24, 2017). "Anuk Arudpragasam: Within the Bounds of the Body". Guernica. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Boyagoda, Randy (October 22, 2016). "The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam review – love and war in Sri Lanka". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  4. ^ "The Story of a Brief Marriage: A Novel | Washington Independent Review of Books". www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Love in Wartime". August 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  6. ^ Majumdar, Neera (November 17, 2017). "'The Story of a Brief Marriage' depicts the Sri Lankan Civil War through the lens of the mortal human body". ThePrint. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam review - love, interrupted". Financial Times. November 18, 2016. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Sacks, Sam (December 29, 2016). "And the Best Novel of the Year Is..." The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "The Story Of A Brief Marriage' Provides Intimate Look At Sri Lanka's Civil War". NPR. September 7, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  10. ^ "Best books of 2016: Fiction". Financial Times. December 2, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  11. ^ Freeman, Ru (October 7, 2016). "A Brave Debut Novel About the Sri Lankan Civil War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  12. ^ Mohan, Rohini (December 3, 2016). "Rohini Mohan reviews Anuk Arudpragasam's The Story of a Brief Marriage". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "'The Story of A Brief Marriage' Imagines the Life of Persecuted Tamils in Sri Lanka". The Wire. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  14. ^ "The Story of a Brief Marriage review: Till death do us part". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Nair, Supriya (November 18, 2016). "Book review: The Story Of A Brief Marriage". mint. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "The Story Of A Brief Marriage By Anuk Arudpragasam - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  17. ^ Staff Reporter (November 23, 2017). "Sri Lankan author wins Shakti Bhatt prize". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  18. ^ PRIZE, DSC (November 18, 2017). "Anuk Arudpragasam wins the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017". The DSC prize. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  19. ^ "Dylan Thomas prize: Shortlist for 2017 award announced". March 28, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
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