The story is about an Alaththi Amma who has made her life part and parcel of the Kathargama Devale. The story revolves around her life, the problems she faces and how she overcomes them. The imagery of nature is described well from the beginning itself. Other than that, the rituals of an Alaththi Amma, the history of Ceylon;from the Malaria Fever, Sunflower Movemen to, Trade Union actions in Sri Lanka have been aptly described by the author.
The author's ability to manipulate the language is praiseworthy; she is able to keep you engaged with the story irrespective of whether it's a mouthwatering description of the food or whether it's an explanation of how a patient was taken care of by the protagonist.The imagery of the village life, the superstitions, culture and the beliefs of the village folk are well illustrated by the author. The way that the emotions of Wasundara has been written makes you take the same emotional rollercoaster with her.
The author is able to connect different things which takes place in the protagonist's life together, seamlessly without effort; from the peacock who comes to visit Wasundara, to the suicide of the mother and the story behind it. What I liked about the story is the feminist undertone given by the author. It makes the whole story believable in the Ceylonese context. The independence of the protagonist and the village and the town people being unable to accept it, her acceptance of it and the ability to change herself to suit the society she's in but not willing to forget her past as well as unwilling to be put down because her past made me love the character more.
It’s a great book. Incredible and heart warming storyline . Made me cry while reading the ending. I love the way writer describe Sri Lankan heritage, believes and how it modeled human nature to bear the challenges life throws at them. The only thing is writer takes a long time to build the characters, it bored the readers of waiting something interesting to happen.
Read this in a day. Loved it. It’s not a classical masterpiece , but a heartwarming beautiful narrative. It flows through an era of consecutive changes in the country, and captures this within the weave of the story easily. There’s sometimes a repetitive style seen in folk tales, that doesn’t add to, or take away from the story. A romantic fiction, a historical romance. Great stress reliever. Will read more books from the author.