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මඩොල් දූව
Martin Wikramasinghe's Madol Doova has been read, re-read and loved by generations of Sri Lankans in it's original Sinhala as well as in other translations. During the half-century since it was published in 1947, over a million copies have been printed.
178 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
375 people are currently reading
4539 people want to read
About the author
Martin Wickramasinghe
72 books380 followersThe search for roots is the central theme in Martin Wickramasinghe’s writings on the culture and life of the people of Sri Lanka. He imaginatively explored and applied modern knowledge in natural and social sciences, literature, linguistics, the arts, philosophy, education, and Buddhism and comparative religion to reach beyond the superficial emotionalism of vulgar nationalism, and guide us to the enduring roots of our common national identity that exists in the folklife and folk culture of Sri Lanka...
Martin Wickramasinghe’s vision was primarily nurtured in the tolerant, humane, realistic attitude to life traditional to Buddhist folk culture. He valued the intellectual freedom and independence inspired by the Buddha’s ‘Kalama Sutta’ which he saw as a tradition to question tradition, not unlike the Western scientific attitude. Through his writings, he consistently opposed dogmatism, casuistry, elitism, and oppression in any form, be it cultural, religious, political or social.
His works have been translated and published in English, Hindi, Tamil, Russian, Chinese, Romanian, Dutch, German, French and Japanese languages.
Martin Wickramasinghe’s vision was primarily nurtured in the tolerant, humane, realistic attitude to life traditional to Buddhist folk culture. He valued the intellectual freedom and independence inspired by the Buddha’s ‘Kalama Sutta’ which he saw as a tradition to question tradition, not unlike the Western scientific attitude. Through his writings, he consistently opposed dogmatism, casuistry, elitism, and oppression in any form, be it cultural, religious, political or social.
His works have been translated and published in English, Hindi, Tamil, Russian, Chinese, Romanian, Dutch, German, French and Japanese languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
February 25, 2018
I approached this book by friendship as a lovely friend gifted me this book as representative of the literature of her country, so my predisposition to read it was beyond the mere literary motivation.
However, I have to say, I loved it. I found it so innocent in both its style and plot, it has been like breathing fresh air. It portrays childhood friendship in rural SL time ago so we have to relate the episodes to a certain historical moment without judging them.
The adventures of the protagonist and his friend (like Asians Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn) moved me frequently, made me laugh, smile but, above all, feel an inmense tenderness from the beginning to end.
There are books you read but there are others you read and never forget: this is one of the latter for many reasons
However, I have to say, I loved it. I found it so innocent in both its style and plot, it has been like breathing fresh air. It portrays childhood friendship in rural SL time ago so we have to relate the episodes to a certain historical moment without judging them.
The adventures of the protagonist and his friend (like Asians Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn) moved me frequently, made me laugh, smile but, above all, feel an inmense tenderness from the beginning to end.
There are books you read but there are others you read and never forget: this is one of the latter for many reasons
June 6, 2023
This is the English translation of Martin Wickramasinghe's මඩොල් දූව. To say something about Prof. Halpe's translation, it's really good so you won't regret reading it. I liked the fact that it has Sri Lankan coloring with names of titles, food etc. without being translated into English.
I read the original when I was around 14 and didn't see things I see now re-reading it. Firstly "Madol Doova" is a Growth novel/bildungsroman one of my favourite genres. The narrator/protagonist Upali is a young rebel who finds Madol Doova (Madol island, "Doova" means island) a perfect utopian escape from everything he is tired of back at home. And I didn't notice it earlier, being motherless and having a stepmother is a key reason for Upali's rebellious personality. It's his way of "punishing" his father for forgetting his mother so soon.
Then Upali loves adventures and it is this teenage venturesomeness that leads Upali and Jinna ( Upali's friend and a servent-boy in his household) to walk away from the class structure and make bold choices face the consequences and face the realities on their own terms.
The island helps to shape Upali into a mature figure one who is responsible, independent and caring.
*Recommended to Young-Adult/Children Fiction fans.
I read the original when I was around 14 and didn't see things I see now re-reading it. Firstly "Madol Doova" is a Growth novel/bildungsroman one of my favourite genres. The narrator/protagonist Upali is a young rebel who finds Madol Doova (Madol island, "Doova" means island) a perfect utopian escape from everything he is tired of back at home. And I didn't notice it earlier, being motherless and having a stepmother is a key reason for Upali's rebellious personality. It's his way of "punishing" his father for forgetting his mother so soon.
Then Upali loves adventures and it is this teenage venturesomeness that leads Upali and Jinna ( Upali's friend and a servent-boy in his household) to walk away from the class structure and make bold choices face the consequences and face the realities on their own terms.
The island helps to shape Upali into a mature figure one who is responsible, independent and caring.
*Recommended to Young-Adult/Children Fiction fans.
September 13, 2025
Madol Doova may have been targeted towards a younger audience but that didn’t stop me from finding lots of meaning in it. Just to name a few:
-‘but I wasn’t a boy who could be kept down by beating’- showing how violence can never end violence and also how a child’s behaviour stems from their parents.
- ‘We shouldn’t blame those poor children.It’s all her own fault.Why did she have to fall?’ This misogynistic attitude which is STILL been seen today is beyond comprehension. The way I could understand this situation is utterly disgusting.
-Upalis’ main plot of maturity was not from his independency but rather from realising his mistakes and apologising
Overall, I found Upali a really interesting character and I also enjoyed getting closer to my culture. However I did find that there was no strong plot.
-‘but I wasn’t a boy who could be kept down by beating’- showing how violence can never end violence and also how a child’s behaviour stems from their parents.
- ‘We shouldn’t blame those poor children.It’s all her own fault.Why did she have to fall?’ This misogynistic attitude which is STILL been seen today is beyond comprehension. The way I could understand this situation is utterly disgusting.
-Upalis’ main plot of maturity was not from his independency but rather from realising his mistakes and apologising
Overall, I found Upali a really interesting character and I also enjoyed getting closer to my culture. However I did find that there was no strong plot.
July 25, 2019
I know my first encounter with this book is way before 1990, just can't remember when. But I can remember the blue cover with a boat and two boys. How wonderful it was.
The survival of Upali & Jinna in a remote island after running away from home is the cream of the story. Nostalgia hits every time I think of this. The ghost lights, the boat carrying a woman & child at night and Soma, the stubborn daughter of the principal who always did what was forbidden are earliest memories of Madol Doowa. Mr. Wickramasingha wrote in his beautiful flow of language with arousing curiosity which makes the reader a slave to the book. The beauty of life, the harmonious existence of man & nature and the rebellious nature of youth is portrayed in the best way possible.
Translated to many languages from Sinhalese, Madol Doowa still holds the place as one of the best books of Sinhalese literature.
The survival of Upali & Jinna in a remote island after running away from home is the cream of the story. Nostalgia hits every time I think of this. The ghost lights, the boat carrying a woman & child at night and Soma, the stubborn daughter of the principal who always did what was forbidden are earliest memories of Madol Doowa. Mr. Wickramasingha wrote in his beautiful flow of language with arousing curiosity which makes the reader a slave to the book. The beauty of life, the harmonious existence of man & nature and the rebellious nature of youth is portrayed in the best way possible.
Translated to many languages from Sinhalese, Madol Doowa still holds the place as one of the best books of Sinhalese literature.
October 18, 2020
Madol Duwa is a story about the heroic adventures of two children. On the one hand, Martin Wickramasinghe should be praised for bringing such a story to the fore, as books on the heroic adventures of Sinhala children were rarely written at that time. Because many of Martin Wickramasinghe's books are about people who go out of their way to do something different and try to improve. Piyal from Gamperaliya, the protagonist of the novel Karuwala Gedara, and Upali from Madol Duwa are examples of this. Upali does not like school life and growing up under his parents like his peers. He ran away from home and did various adventures and eventually started and developed his own farm on the uninhabited island of Madol Duwa. Some may say that stories about adventures set a bad example for children, but I think this book sets a good example for our children about the freedom they need.
If you've read Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you definitely know that this is largely inspired by Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. If you read these two books you will find enough facts to write a separate review on this. But there is a little presentation by Martin Wickramasinghe or anyone else on this. For example, Upali of Madol Duwa flees with his house servant Jinnah to an island called Madol Duwa. A boy named Huckleberry in Mark Twain's book also escapes to an island called Jackson with Jim, a slave in his adoptive home. This is just one point.
But Martin Wickramasinghe brilliantly adapted the facts of the book written about that environment in that American era to fit the traditional Sinhala environment. For example, there is a story in the book about this boy Huckleberry Finn joining a mobile drama group, and the same incident in Madol Duwa is written as a Teeter Drama in the villages at that era in Sri Lanka.
But Martin Wickramasinghe must have thought that there was no way for the Sinhala reader to have an understanding of American literature in the era when Madol Duwa was first published. Martin Wickramasinghe, a very versatile writer, must have read all these books. However, whether it is an adaptation or a self-creation, I would like to say again that Martin Wickremasinghe should be praised for creating such a work.
If you've read Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you definitely know that this is largely inspired by Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. If you read these two books you will find enough facts to write a separate review on this. But there is a little presentation by Martin Wickramasinghe or anyone else on this. For example, Upali of Madol Duwa flees with his house servant Jinnah to an island called Madol Duwa. A boy named Huckleberry in Mark Twain's book also escapes to an island called Jackson with Jim, a slave in his adoptive home. This is just one point.
But Martin Wickramasinghe brilliantly adapted the facts of the book written about that environment in that American era to fit the traditional Sinhala environment. For example, there is a story in the book about this boy Huckleberry Finn joining a mobile drama group, and the same incident in Madol Duwa is written as a Teeter Drama in the villages at that era in Sri Lanka.
But Martin Wickramasinghe must have thought that there was no way for the Sinhala reader to have an understanding of American literature in the era when Madol Duwa was first published. Martin Wickramasinghe, a very versatile writer, must have read all these books. However, whether it is an adaptation or a self-creation, I would like to say again that Martin Wickremasinghe should be praised for creating such a work.
December 8, 2015
This is Sri Lankan famous book. I read this book many times. Because I can read Sri Lankan letters(Sinhala letters);because I'm from Sri Lanka. This book wrote Mr. Martin Wickramasinghe. I will discuss about him self also. Mr. Martin Wickramasinghe is very famous writer was Sri Lanka. He was born on 29 May 1890 Koggala, Sri Lanka and he dies was 23 July 1976 Colombo, Sri Lanka. When he dies he was 86 years old. His nationality is Sri Lankan. His other names is Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe. His ethnicity is Sinhalese. His occupation is Writer, author in Sri Lanka. His religion is THERAVADA BUDDHISM. His wife was Kataluwe Balage Prema de Silva. His children are *Sarath Kusum Wickramasinghe,
*Vasantha Kumara Wickramasinghe,
*Rupa Malathie Saparamadu,
*Himanshu Ranga Wickramasinghe,
*Usha Ekanayake,
*Unie Kuruppu
That was about writer Mr. Martin Wickramasinghe. Now I'm going discuss about Madol Doova.That story about island in Sri Lanka. Madol doova is Mango island. In that book main character was UPALI. His mom was died. When his mom was dies he was 7 years old. Because after his mom's died his father was married again. Sri Lankan people called 2nd mom is "KUDAMMA" But his Kudamma was very very bad. Every times blame for Upali. In their home had a servant. He was a small boy. His name was JINADASA". But Upali called for him "JINNA" He was older than two years for Upali. younger time he was lived village. Because he had May be 5 or 6 friends. His best friend also was Jinna. Jinna is very kind. His author friends was Dagadasa,Jinadasa and More............... If he was adult and went to madol doova to live; with Jinna. They was first persons of lived madol doova.
*Vasantha Kumara Wickramasinghe,
*Rupa Malathie Saparamadu,
*Himanshu Ranga Wickramasinghe,
*Usha Ekanayake,
*Unie Kuruppu
That was about writer Mr. Martin Wickramasinghe. Now I'm going discuss about Madol Doova.That story about island in Sri Lanka. Madol doova is Mango island. In that book main character was UPALI. His mom was died. When his mom was dies he was 7 years old. Because after his mom's died his father was married again. Sri Lankan people called 2nd mom is "KUDAMMA" But his Kudamma was very very bad. Every times blame for Upali. In their home had a servant. He was a small boy. His name was JINADASA". But Upali called for him "JINNA" He was older than two years for Upali. younger time he was lived village. Because he had May be 5 or 6 friends. His best friend also was Jinna. Jinna is very kind. His author friends was Dagadasa,Jinadasa and More............... If he was adult and went to madol doova to live; with Jinna. They was first persons of lived madol doova.
March 5, 2014
Playful and nostalgic, Madol Doowa tells the story of Upali, a young boy living down South. He faces tragedy at a very young age, but that doesn't change his playful nature. Defiant of his parent's expectations, Upali gets up to all manner of mischief with his friend, Jinna, a servant boy at his house.
The book is simply written, but deals with quite complex issues, such as death, loss and guilt. Yet through it all it maintains its playful tone, and is a great snapshot of rural life at the time (it's said to be set around the 1890s). Madol Doowa has been made into a movie and teledrama, and you can even go see the island which is said to have partially inspired Martin Wickramasinghe, not far from his home in Koggala.
It's a quick, easy read, and recommended.
The book is simply written, but deals with quite complex issues, such as death, loss and guilt. Yet through it all it maintains its playful tone, and is a great snapshot of rural life at the time (it's said to be set around the 1890s). Madol Doowa has been made into a movie and teledrama, and you can even go see the island which is said to have partially inspired Martin Wickramasinghe, not far from his home in Koggala.
It's a quick, easy read, and recommended.
February 27, 2023
මේ පොත නිල්පාට කවරයකින් තිබුණ එකක්. ඒක හම යන කල්ම වාර ගණනාවක් මේක කියවන්න ඇති. හරියට මත්වීමක් වගේ ඒ කාලෙ මේක.
October 13, 2017
සිංහල ළමා නවකථාව ශ්රී ලාංකික මහා ගත්කතු මාර්ටින් වික්රමසිංහයන් විසින් රචනා කොට ඇත.1947 දී ප්රථමවරට ප්රකාශයට පත්කොට ඇත.1890 ගණන් වල ලංකාවේ දකුණු පලාතේ වෙරළබඩ ජීවත්වූ උපාලි ගිනිවැල්ලලේ යන යොවුන් තරුණයා මෙහි ප්රධාන චරිතයයි.ඔහු හා ඔහුගේ මිතුරා වන ජින්නා නොහොත් ජිනපාළ සමඟ සිදු කල අපූරු ක්රියා මෙම කථාවට පාදක වී තිබෙනවා.උපාලි සිය මිතුරා සමඟ පාළු දූපතක ජීවත් වීම සඳහා සිදුකරන ලද ඉමහත් කැපවීම මෙහි හොදින් විස්තර කෙරෙනවා.මෙම කෘතිය පසුව දෙමළ,ඉංග්රීසි,ලන්දේසි,රුසියන්,චීන,රුමේනියන්,බල්ගේරියන් ඇතුළු ලොව පුරා භාෂා රාශියකට පරිවර්තනය කර තිබෙනවා.1976 දී ආචාර්ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස් මහතා මෙම කථාව චිත්රපටයකටද නඟා තිබෙනවා.
ප්රවර්ග:
ප්රවර්ග:
August 28, 2020
Part The Catcher in the Rye, part Lord of the Flies, Madol Doova is a fascinating coming of age story set in Sri Lanka by its most famous literary product Martin Wickramasinghe. To add, Madol Doova came out before both The Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies did so Wickramasinghe is a pioneer in the genre. Evocative and nostalgic of simple times, Madol Doova is fun and engaging to read.
June 21, 2018
The first time I read මඩොල් දූව I was 8 or 10. I loved every page. There is adventure, boats, good and bad guys! At that age there is something profoundly evocative in words like Island, boats, adventure and so forth and I have remembered Upali's adventures with great pleasure over the years.
July 27, 2009
The ambition of the "martin wikrama sinhe" that he going to made. and the social surround at that time of srilanka & down country.
June 15, 2010
gigliiglg
June 5, 2012
I read this before my grade 5 scholarship examination. At that time I was very interested this. Suitable for Teenagers.
October 21, 2019
Best one
November 24, 2023
There is a good book I had read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2020
A short sweet story about two friends who grew and matured over the years. The themes of friendship, courage and mischief and escape were prominent in this novel.
I loved the character growth that the protagonist Upali went through, and the overall plot progression was quite to my liking. That said I wish I read this younger —third grade me would have loved this book— but alas what can I do? The writing style and descriptions of village life was very much on point (it’s Martin Wickramasinghe, need I say more?)
Overall, it was a nice story and I loved the nuances and interactions that Upali had with the minor characters and specially Jinna; I definitely chuckled more than once. I would have probably liked this book more if the resolution included revisiting Lalitha, Gunadasa and Somalatha.
- Sincerely,
Yeshani
I loved the character growth that the protagonist Upali went through, and the overall plot progression was quite to my liking. That said I wish I read this younger —third grade me would have loved this book— but alas what can I do? The writing style and descriptions of village life was very much on point (it’s Martin Wickramasinghe, need I say more?)
Overall, it was a nice story and I loved the nuances and interactions that Upali had with the minor characters and specially Jinna; I definitely chuckled more than once. I would have probably liked this book more if the resolution included revisiting Lalitha, Gunadasa and Somalatha.
- Sincerely,
Yeshani
November 23, 2024
This was a very immersive read. The culture and customs of the village where Upali grew up, the superstitions, the island, the legal practices are so well described, I felt like I got an education while reading this book. It all also felt completely insane at the same time, the casual cruelty of the society and the boys was both very believable and seemed entirely over the top. The ending was great, though: it was a good blend of wish fulfillment and revenge, and also a kind of growing up while making your own way. Overall, I loved the kinds of questions and thoughts this book brought up for me, and very grateful to the friend who recommended it. A very cool experience.
June 16, 2018
Tbh, I think a lot of the amazing-ness of this book was lost in translation. I enjoyed it, I really did- but at the same time I wasn't really compelled to keep reading.
It had a lot of the same vibes that my old Enid Blytons had though, and that was awesome. Maybe one day my Sinhala will be good enough to read this in it's original format.
Also sidenote, my boyfriend loves this book, so I guess like any other book, it's subjective!
It had a lot of the same vibes that my old Enid Blytons had though, and that was awesome. Maybe one day my Sinhala will be good enough to read this in it's original format.
Also sidenote, my boyfriend loves this book, so I guess like any other book, it's subjective!
January 1, 2024
This book encouraged me as a teenager to explore and be independent.I have read it more than 50 times. Plot is decorated with essence of typical Sri Lankan village lifestyle of southern province coastal area.
January 17, 2024
Having recently visited the author’s former home in SW Sri Lanka it was interesting to read this short novel. Written for children it gives an insight into life in that area a couple of generations ago
October 18, 2017
A good book to read for young adult readers.
February 17, 2018
that book is a very interesting book
July 25, 2018
Famous short novel about an adolescent male with his friend who ran away from their parents and started to live in the Madol Doova island located inside Sri Lanka by Martin Wickeramsinghe.
May 4, 2019
Good novel
May 24, 2019
It's always reminds me how good it was when we read this book in out younger days and still read it and enjoy it. This is one of the best books in sinhala literature.
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November 10, 2019Tfyg
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April 7, 2020a good story with horror parts
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews