El reloj de arena

by Romesh Gunesekera

Sri Lanka, 1993. Chip se encuentra en la habitación de un hotel preocupado por la desaparición de su amigo Prins Ducal, e intentará desentrañar el misterio de la trágica historia de la familia Ducal. Tras la accidental muerte de su marido, Jason Ducal, Pearl se traslada de Sri Lanka a Londres con sus tres hijos: Prins, Anoja y Ravi. Cuando sus hijos se emancipan, le sobran habitaciones y le alquila una a Chip. Poco a poco, éste se convierte en el confidente de Pearl, que le hará partícipe de su vida: el distanciamiento entre ella y su marido debido a la obsesión de Jason por los negocios; la desgracia que supuso mudarse a Arcadia, una casa limítrofe con tierras de los Vacunan; la sempiterna rivalidad entre los Ducal y los Vacunan; el suicidio de Ravi… En una perfecta trama en la que se entrelazan el presente y el pasado, Chip recordará su último encuentro con Prins y cómo emergen extrañas sospechas acerca no sólo de la muerte de Jason, sino de tantas otras cosas… En la obra de Gunesekera destaca la sensibilidad, la belleza y el lirismo de su prosa, y su capacidad de recrear el complejo choque cultural entre Oriente y Occidente. El reloj de arena puede leerse una y otra vez sin cansar al lector, ya que en cada lectura se le revelará un sentido nuevo.

Genres: Fiction, Asia, Literary Fiction, Novels

261 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Romesh Gunesekera was born in Sri Lanka where he spent his early years. Before coming to Britain he also lived in the Philippines. He now lives in London. In 2010 he was writer in residence at Somerset House.

His first novel, Reef, was published in 1994 and was short-listed as a finalist for the Booker Prize, as well as for the Guardian Fiction Prize. In the USA he was nominated for a New Voice Award.

Before that, in 1992 his first collection of stories, Monkfish Moon, was one of the first titles in Granta’s venture into book publishing. It was shortlisted for several prizes and named a New York Times Notable Book for 1993.

In 1998, he received the inaugural BBC Asia Award for Achievement in Writing & Literature for his novel The Sandglass. The previous year he was awarded one of the prestigious Italian literary prizes: the Premio Mondello Five Continents. In 1995 he won the Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award in Britain.

His third novel, Heaven’s Edge, a dystopian novel set in the near future was published by Bloomsbury in 2002.

Four years later Bloomsbury also published The Match hailed as one of the first novels in which cricket was celebrated, and a forerunner of the many cricket-related novels that have followed.

In 2008, a collection of his Madeira stories were published in a bilingual edition to celebrate its 500th anniversary of the founding of Funchal in Madeira.

His most recent novel is Suncatcher. His other books are Noontide Toll, a collection of linked stories, and the historical novel The Prisoner of Paradise.

Romesh Gunesekera is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and has also received a National Honour in Sri Lanka.

He has been a judge for a number of literary prizes including the Caine Prize for African Writing, the David Cohen Literature Prize and the Forward Prize for Poetry. He has been a Guest Director at the Cheltenham Festival, an Associate Tutor at Goldsmiths College and on the Board of the Arvon Foundation for writing.

Reviews

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Gunesekera's Monkfish Moon and Reef very much, but The Sandglass was a struggle to get through. I found the characters uninteresting, the narrative (and the narrator) confused and convoluted, and the prose flat, occasionally cringe-worthy, like a pretentious first draft from a dubious MFA workshop. I don't know what the reviewers in the major book-chat-press were thinking in their over-the-top reviews. I'll probably return to Gunesekera and hope for the best, a return to the sparkle of his first two books, but I'll not push myself to get through another novel which in the end I best could describe as 'boring'.

[Tarun Surya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book kind of disappointed me after a flurry of amazing Sri Lankan writing. The story meanders along with no particular direction and switches time periods in a similar manner to regular thought. While the concept of memories and nostalgia as a running element works, the characters are simply too shallow to engage with at any level. Aside from Pearl as a binding force, the plot tends to fall apart, similar to the family in the novel itself. Overall, an unsatisfying read.

[Lorraine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe worthy of 1 1/2 stars...I kept expecting the characters to develop, something to be revealed, but most of the book (though written beautifully)felt incomplete.

[Moushine Zahr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second novel I've read from Romesh Gunesekera. In this book, the author wrote about the same subject that the first novel I've read from his "Heaven's edge". In this book, after the death of his mother living in England, her remaining adult son arrives from Sri Lanka for the funeral, meets a long time friend and his niece, sole remaining relative of his family. The son and the friend talk to each other throughout the day about the deceased women, the family, and life in Sri Lanka before immigrating to England. The son left England decades ago to return to his native country trying to make money, moving from job to job, and tyring to find the truth about his father's accidental death.
The son talks about his findings to his friend while the friend talks about stories heard from deceased women. The author gives small hints of mysteries and intrigues without developing them and coming to a conclusion. This book is a about the interesting saga of 2 families living next to each with implied romantic and business relationship among them. The author describes the lives of each family member seperately without any apparent logic. The story is written like a puzzle the reader needs to assemble. Unfortunately, it is confusing to read a puzzle story, which is the purpose, but the intrigues are not clearly stated only implied and never resolved or found out by any. The findings are all in past tense and in chronological disorder. Basically, two friends talk to each other all day long, but the reader doesn't participate in the search for clues as it is given directly. When there is an intrigue, the reader usually likes to read the quest for clues as much as the result. In this book, neither is written.

[David Kimber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written diaspora novel again highlighting the tensions of upper class merchant family Sri Lankans who grapple to find acceptance or peace either in SL or abroad.

It traces the storey of two intertwined conflicted families who rise to power and wealth in post independence SL. Family members clamour for truth, but seek to escape from its telling. Much is left unsaid.

Gunesekera paints in pastels, images of the past - both open and opaque, hints at mystery and intrigue, silences and subdued acceptance with occasional rebellion. Occasional splashes of colour are interspersed with quiet reflections and much mystery.

It’s a book which drags you on in a search for clarity and certainty which is never delivered. A veiled picture of the links between families, politics, religion, power and influence. It leaves one feeling more aware, not necessarily satisfied, but a little more comprehending of the turbulence in SL’s last half of the 20th century.

[John Hills · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's difficult to review this book as the images that the author creates are at times sublime and the tensions of a post independence Sri Lanka are really emotive. There was the unease of the characters who had moved to another country, yet felt still isolated and for some a constant yearning to be back in Sri Lanka, despite the troubles there. I did find most of the characters profoundly unlikeable, with the exception of Pearl. Maybe we aren't supposed to like them. Even when we are told about the tragedies that befall the Ducals throughout the years and we learn how Pearl has lost a husband and two children, I still didn't feel very sad about it. The connection to the characters was lacking, yet as an exploration of colonialism and what happens when a country is finally freed from those bonds it was a successful novel

[Dave Pescod · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main sections of this book which were set in the past and reported many events of the family power feud; were a little repetitive and did not engage me fully as a reader. However it improved considerably with the last section and the funeral of Pearl. Present action and emotional description of her passing and the birth of a new generation were moving and moire dramatic. Gunesekera's writing is beautiful at times, and it's courageous to weave Pearl's story through her Sri Lanka history in this layered palimpsest. She is a likeable character, amusing and stubborn. The novel is rich with the atmosphere of emigres adjusting to the UK. However, I don't know if I missed something, but I was never sure of the narrator's position and relationship, even so the book kept me intrigued.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this in about 1999 I was much impressed and kept it on my bookshelves. Would have given it 4 stars if Goodreads had existed then. On a reread in 2020, found it dull and flat. Not much happens, the characters are only mildly interesting, and the overriding mysteries of lives past are not resolved although some hints are dropped. The writing impressed me less the second time around too, although it still reinforced my suspicion that some novels coming out of the Indian sub-continent (including Sri Lanka) display a better command of English than many current North American and British novels. An interesting try but now it's headed for a trade-in at a second-hand bookstore.

[Katherine Rushton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t keep up with timelines and locations, too much to-ing and fro-ing between England and Sri Lanka, never clear who was where and when. Also, I had almost finished the book when I realised the chapter titles referred to the narrator’s day with Prins in February when he arrived for Pearl’s funeral. I assumed they referred to the day in which the narrator began his story in the hotel room! Lots of unnecessary description about non-player characters and unrelated events. I appreciate there were philosophical musings but it was all too pointless.

[Anjali K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Sri Lankan literature but this book's plot went nowhere. Gunasekara should have delved more into the war/genocide/displacement, because writing without that context made the characters experiences and setting lack alot of depth. And the blurb is very misleading! There is no real mystery or investigation.
I did however find interesting the discussion of life and death with Pearl. This was my favorite quote: "sometimes it seems we are cocoonned in a skin of time which, if ruptured, lets life slip out to disappear forever" (p 248).

[Elizabeth M. Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful prose as always. A little too heavy on intellectual metaphor for my tastes. Plot unresolved which I don't personally enjoy. Not as good a read as Reef. Stakes didn't feel as high, though they were.

[Katy Jean Vance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too heavy for a beach read... I was hoping to learn more about Sri Lankan history...

[CHRISTINA ORGAN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm not sure what the aim of the book was.

[Rivulet027 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected the mystery and the grief. I didn't realize how layered the grief would be.

[Imaan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the ideas for the characters come together well in this book, that's all this book is; characters. The plot, or rather lack thereof, is at best slow and steady, and at worst a long and seemingly never-ending piece, woven from paragraphs that do not seem relevant to each other.
There is no climax, no plot twists, no resolution, this book is best described as a descriptive essay that won't end, or a piece on a family background. Unfortunately, I regret the hours this book took from me and I don't recommend reading it unless you're willing to go through pages and pages and days of just description and no actual story. Reading it leaves one with a feeling of being unsatisfied, and quite frankly, bored.

[Nicholas Garforth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing - I struggled to complete this as the characters left me entirely cold and uncaring about their backstory. And the way the story was told came across as convoluted, confusing and to a large part unbelievable: how could x have found this out?No great revelations or startling twist to reward me either. It just felt incomplete and half- hearted. Given her laudatory comment on the cover I have decided not to bother with any of Penelope Fitzgerald's work either. This is going to the charity shop. Noontide Toll is immeasurably superior. A tiny silver lining to the terrible civil war.

[Thivanka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a phenomenal novel which weaves in between space and time effortlessly. The way how Gunesekara confines all of the events of the book to just one wintry day in London, but yet places no constraint on the incidents of days gone by, is just literary masterwork. And its pure genius how he named the chapters after different times of a single day, which perfectly harmonizes with the whole concept he is portraying. This novel is purely a narrative driven by time, beautifully interlacing the past, present, and future of the characters Gunesekara has eloquently created. A must read and a classic for the ages.

[Lex Poot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was taking aback reading the negative reviews of the book. They seem to be subjective projecting them against his other books. Surely in the hands of a write less gifted this good be a bad book. However as I am unbiased having never read one of his books I thought it was quite excellent. It is a familiar theme pitching the modern diaspora against the old rich. I could not give it 5 stars as I thought the beginning of the book was rather odd. The author and his editor should have considered a rewrite. Looking forward to read more of his work.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read this book because I found it in a used bookstore in Malaysia for $1, but I was very pleased that I did. I'm partial to any and all colonial-based literature, so I was bound to like this regardless. Sri Lanka also holds a special place in my mind, so the criticisms others have of this book don't register with me as clearly. I loved the back and forth between London and Sri Lanka, the present and the past, and the struggle colonials have with their colonizers and with the social order within their own world as a result of that colonization.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of two feuding families is told simply but requires attention to follow, vacillating between past and future and London to Colombo. Their feud has occurred over money, love, and business for generations as they try to succeed during colonial Sri Lanka, post-colonial SL, and as expats in England. the feud may have included murder and infidelity but these hypotheses remain vague and we have no resolution. I'd have preferred that the author create more definitive story.

[polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical of the shifting voices in this but decided at the end that he'd pulled it off well. Post colonialization forms the backdrop to this novel, as with most of his work. I like Reef better--the language is more imagistic. But this novel surprised me. It sneaks up on you, and the language, though not as imagistic, is still beautiful.

[Baljit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set in the post-colonial period of Sri Lanka and is about the feud between 2 families, which involved business rivalry, cooperate wheeling and dealing. Some secrets are exposed in a convoluted fashion years later as the memories of an old lady stir the conscience of her prodigal son and her lodger.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay read but not as good as others of his that I have read. A bit disjointed, didn't really get much of a 'feel' for the characters and found the largely unidentified 'narrator' a bit annoying at times. Only 5/10 for me.

[Joanne Carpenter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the way the author skipped around from one timeframe to another - it was confusing. I found it difficult to care about the characters but did want to find out what happened in the end. I was disappointed.

[John Furniss · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book a disappointment after The Reef and found it rather tedious. I gave up about 80% of the way through!

[Jolene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solitary Lankan man seeks the company of an ageing woman and gets intrigued by her colorful family history. Most of the action is "off screen".

[Shruti Buddhavarapu · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know, this book may not be the best, but it's good enough for me to want to seek out more of his writing.

2.5 stars.

[Romanie marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

boaring

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool story. I loved the parts set in. Sri Lanka.