Anil’s Ghost
Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje, published by Knopf in April 2000, is a novel that explores the complexities of identity and the impact of civil war in Sri Lanka. This first edition spans 311 pages and is written in English. The narrative follows Anil Tissera, a forensic anthropologist who returns to her homeland to investigate a series of murders that have plagued the island, revealing the intertwined nature of personal and national histories.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of imagery and language as the story unfolds against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage and the turmoil of its recent past. The novel delves into themes of love, family, and the quest for truth, centering on the discovery of skeletons, particularly one known as ‘Sailor.’ Through Anil’s journey, the book presents a psychological exploration of the unknown enemy and the hidden past, inviting reflection on the broader implications of violence and memory in a divided society.
Official synopsis Publisher
With his first novel since the internationally acclaimed The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje gives us a work displaying all the richness of imagery and language and the piercing emotional truth that we have come to know as the hallmarks of his writing.
The time is our own time. The place is Sri Lanka, the island nation formerly known as Ceylon, off the southern tip of India, a country steeped in centuries of cultural achievement and tradition–and forced into the late twentieth century by the ravages of civil war and the consequences of a country divided against itself.
Into this maelstrom steps a young woman, Anil Tissera, born in Sri Lanka, educated in England and America, a forensic anthropologist sent by an international human rights group to work with local officials to discover the source of the organized campaigns of murder engulfing the island.
Bodies are discovered. Skeletons. And particularly one, nicknamed ‘Sailor.’ What follows is a story about love, about family, about identity, about the unknown enemy, about the quest to unlock the hidden past–all propelled by a riveting mystery.
Unfolding against the deeply evocative background of Sri Lanka’s landscape and ancient civilization, Anil’s Ghost is a literary spellbinder–the most powerful novel we have yet had from Michael Ondaatje.
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