Ruins
Sydney
:
Hachette Australia
,
2016
9188590
2016
single work
novel
'In the bustling streets, overcrowded hospitals and glittering nightclubs of Colombo, five family members find their bonds stretched to breaking point in the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war. Latha, the family's servant of two decades, questions her allegiances following the tragic death of her nephew ...Anoushka, a sixteen-year-old high-school student, tries to win back a friend while keeping her punk-rock credentials hidden from her parents ...Lakshmi, a proud matriarch, is haunted by images of missing boys while struggling with the selfish disregard of her own children ...Niranjan, recently returned from Australia, is ready to get his start-up off the ground but keeps getting distracted by stoner friends and petty squabbles ...And Mano, the head of the family, feels increasingly impotent under the pressure of government intimidation and his wife's scorn ...As the five leave Colombo to travel to an ancient city, the generations collide and long-held prejudices are revealed. For this family, with one foot in the old way of life and one firmly in the new, nothing can ever be what it once was.' (Publication summary)
