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‘RUINS is a stirring and skilfully crafted debut, and Savanadasa’s characters are so vividly drawn they feel like family. With his sharp and masterful observations of race, class and gender in the “new” Sri Lanka, Savanadasa takes his seat beside Omar Musa, Alice Pung and Michael Mohammed Ahmad to usher in the brave and stunning new dawn of diverse Australian fiction.’ Maxine Beneba Clarke, award-winning author of FOREIGN SOIL
A country picking up the pieces, a family among the ruins.
In the restless streets, crowded waiting rooms 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 wants a home. Anoushka wants an iPod.
Mano hopes to win his wife back.
Lakshmi dreams of rescuing a lost boy.
And Niranjan needs big money so he can leave them all behind.
‘A highly accomplished and well-oiled book . . . It claims the attention of the reader with rare confidence and doesn’t let it go . . . This book could well achieve the same kind of success as The Kite Runner.’ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
‘[Savanadasa’s] writing recalls Christos Tsiolkas’ recent work … distinct and convincing, RUINS heralds the arrival of a gifted new talent in Australian fiction.’ BOOKS+PUBLISHING
‘An absolute must-read’ WOMAN’S DAY
‘An outstanding debut novel’ WEST AUSTRALIAN
‘RUINS is an impressive debut. Savanadasa joins other important contemporary Australian-Sri Lankan novelists . . . in enriching the globalised phenomenon that is Australian literature.’ THE SATURDAY PAPER
‘RUINS stands out from other Australian debuts for its ambitious structure, its vibrant setting, and the depth and complexity of the Sri Lankan family at the centre of the story.’ READINGS
‘an intelligent, engaging novel’ DARK MATTER ZINE
‘A rich and colourful story of family and country, its complexity revealed in layers . . . Only through the eyes of others can we begin to see a place.’ Inga Simpson, author of the critically acclaimed WHERE THE TREES WERE
A country picking up the pieces, a family among the ruins.
In the restless streets, crowded waiting rooms 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 wants a home. Anoushka wants an iPod.
Mano hopes to win his wife back.
Lakshmi dreams of rescuing a lost boy.
And Niranjan needs big money so he can leave them all behind.
‘A highly accomplished and well-oiled book . . . It claims the attention of the reader with rare confidence and doesn’t let it go . . . This book could well achieve the same kind of success as The Kite Runner.’ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
‘[Savanadasa’s] writing recalls Christos Tsiolkas’ recent work … distinct and convincing, RUINS heralds the arrival of a gifted new talent in Australian fiction.’ BOOKS+PUBLISHING
‘An absolute must-read’ WOMAN’S DAY
‘An outstanding debut novel’ WEST AUSTRALIAN
‘RUINS is an impressive debut. Savanadasa joins other important contemporary Australian-Sri Lankan novelists . . . in enriching the globalised phenomenon that is Australian literature.’ THE SATURDAY PAPER
‘RUINS stands out from other Australian debuts for its ambitious structure, its vibrant setting, and the depth and complexity of the Sri Lankan family at the centre of the story.’ READINGS
‘an intelligent, engaging novel’ DARK MATTER ZINE
‘A rich and colourful story of family and country, its complexity revealed in layers . . . Only through the eyes of others can we begin to see a place.’ Inga Simpson, author of the critically acclaimed WHERE THE TREES WERE
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Reviews
I really enjoyed Ruins. Highly recommended.
If you want to be faced with the truth that all families are equally tragic, no matter where they are, or appreciate multilinguality in your novels, then read this book.
- Kimberly McIvor
Social-realism with a touch of the postmodern.
- Rajith Savanadasa.
Ruins is a character-driven exploration of Sri Lanka as a society . . . an intelligent, engaging novel.
Ruins stands out from other Australian debuts for its ambitious structure, its vibrant setting, and the depth and complexity of the Sri Lankan family at the centre of the story.
The characterisation is vivid, and the narrative drive is sustained as the plot layers build up. - Lisa Hill.
For a debut writer there is a great deal of assurance in his ability to create nuanced characters and layers of meaning.
So fresh and descriptive of our diverse society. Beautifully crafted.
The whole reason why I picked up ruins was to discover and explore a different way of life!
An accomplished and insightful debut.
- Robert Goodman
s a highly accomplished and well-oiled book
Ruins is an impressive debut. Savanadasa joins other important contemporary Australian-Sri Lankan novelists . . . in enriching the globalised phenomenon that is Australian literature.
a tale of a middle-class family in Colombo at the time the war was coming to an end.
Savanadasa keeps the tension alive till the very end, letting his characters redeem and redefine themselves by their actions rather than their words.
As only the best fiction can, Ruins has taken me into the life not just of the central characters but also of their culture
A stirring and skillfully crafted debut.
Rajith Savanadasa's Ruins is a remarkable first novel. It is a highly accomplished andwell-oiled book. The pieces fit together as neatly as cogs. Its characters arewarm, engaging and vulnerable. It claims the attention of the reader with rare confidence and doesn't let it go.
an outstanding debut novel
Ruins heralds the arrival of a gifted new talent in Australian fiction.
a refreshingly diverse voice in Australian literature
an absolute must-read
Savanadasa's ear for dialogue is second to none and he mixes Tamil and Sinhala words into the narrative fearlessly. Nothing is obvious in this memorable tale. It rolls along effortlessly, pulling together centuries of history, tradition and the residual traumas of war, poverty and loneliness. It is only as the story races towards a surprising denouement that its full power becomes apparent.
Savanadasa has written a riveting debut that examines the intricacies of class, racial and generational divides in contemporary Sri Lanka.
Tells of life in the so-called New Sri Lanka, after the end of the civil war early this century.
Ruins is a worthy (even dutiful) addition to the burgeoning ranks of English-language novels by writers of both Sinhalese and Tamil backgrounds
sometimes an author turns up who has such a feel for the nuances of personality that their characters seem eerily familiar, as if you might once have known them, or might bump into them in the street. Rajith Savanadasa is one of those writers
Ruins is an impressive debut. Savanadasa joins other important contemporary Australian- Sri Lankan novelists - Yasmine Gooneratne, Michelle de Kretser and Chandani Lokugé - in enriching the globalised phenomenon that is Australian literature