BOOKS
"With the language of a poet and the gift of a true storyteller, Nayomi Munaweera spins a tale of family, politics, war, and love. Island of A Thousand Mirrors is the story of a country tragically ripped apart, but it is also the story of how love and strength can bring its people together again."
- Naomi Benaron, author of Running the Rift, winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction
Press
What Lies Between Us
A young girl grows up carefree in the bosom of her loving family in an old and beautiful house nestled in the idyllic hill country of Sri Lanka. Her childhood is like any other—until it isn't. The consequences of trauma spell both the end of her childhood and that of her stable home. Ostracized by their community in the wake of one terrible night, Ganga and her mother seek safety by immigrating to America.
In America she must negotiate the challenges and thrills of an American teenage girlhood. She navigates immigrancy and thrives. When she meets Daniel, a handsome, charismatic man and falls deeply in love, it appears that the ghosts of her past will finally be banished. Instead, the secrets continue to corrode and despite her best attempts, she cannot resist an encroaching darkness.
What Lies Between Us is a powerful, visceral and affecting story of the ties that bind us, an unflinching look at the lifelong impact of trauma, and the complicated, fateful ways in which our identities can form and shape our relationships, with a special focus on the lives of women.
Island of a Thousand Mirrors
A family epic set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil war comes to poignant and powerful life in this lyrical and riveting debut novel by Nayomi Munaweera. The themes of conflict, family, and love are explored with tender nuance and insight by the author, showing the reader how these seemingly faraway events have relevancy in our own lives.
Munaweera tells the story through the eyes of both Sinhala and Tamil women, with tales of suicide bombers, brutality, and civil war interspersed with those of love, longing and loss. She conjures a powerful metaphor for a nation through the twisted limbs of a tree feasting on blood and bodies, and asks what kind of fruit such a tree will ultimately bear - a question that each of us must answer through the personal and political decisions we make in our lives daily.
I’m thrilled to announce that Island of a Thousand Mirrors has been selected as the Target Book Club Pick of the month for January, 2016. From January 5th, all Target stores will carry a special edition paperback with exclusive content, interview and more! The book is available for pre-order now.
