I really liked this book, it is not an easy book to read but I found it very moving. Its prose is clipped, clear and poetic at the same time with a great depth of feeling. It did bring tears to my eyes and should be read a second time to bring out the things one missed the first time round. I visited Sri Lanka in the early nineties and it was still unsettled then. This book describes the atmosphere of fear and anxiety very well as well as having to carry on regardless whilst one is still alive and being able to do something about the suffering of others.