A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam - review

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Title: A Passage North

Author: Anuk Arudpragasam

Genre: Literary Fiction/Historical Fiction

Pages: 304

My rating: ★★★★★

Other notable works by author: The Story of a Brief Marriage

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2021.

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I loved Anuk Arudpragasam's hauntingly beautiful portrayal of the effects that warfare leaves imprinted on the soul and the geography of a country, and of the people who inhabit it.

The story is told from the quietly introspective point of view of Krishan, a young man searching for purpose and meaning in life, as he reflects upon Sri Lanka, the war that tore it apart, and the relationships and characters of a few people who stood out to him: an ex-girlfriend, his grandmother, and his grandmother's grief-stricken caretaker, Rani.

It begins when Krishan, living back in his childhood home with his mother and grandmother, receives a phone call informing him that Rani has died under mysterious circumstances, found at the bottom of a well. As Krishan prepares for and begins his journey north for the funeral, he also begins his reflections.

The first part of the book focuses on his grandmother, her infirmity, and the finding of her caretaker, Rani.

In the second part, Krishan muses on his past relationship with a passionate activist. Their brief romance was one of those intense loves that comes around once in a blue moon and changes the course of your life. It was destined to end, but now, four years later, Krishan is brought to reminisce about her and her influence on his life, after receiving an email from her for the first time.

The third part of the book focuses on Rani, her grief, and her funeral rites. For me, this was the crowning glory of the book.

Interspersed were accounts of different media formats that had influenced Krishan: an ancient poem; an account of the life of the young Siddhartha; a documentary; etc. But none of them are gratuitously thrown in - they blend perfectly into the novel, adding value and weight to certain recollections or ideas that Krishan had developed.

The novel is written beautifully, with lyrical sentences that flow on and on, but somehow always return back to the point seamlessly. It reminded me of the way Italians write, with their floral prose and endless sentences, but it was the first time I've encountered this style written in English. I was sceptical at first, unsure if it was doable in this language, but Arudpragasam handled it perfectly.

I must admit, regrettably, that I didn't know much about Sri Lanka or the war it endured before picking up this book, but this story only made me want to learn more; and I intend to look into some of the books, poems and documentary that are referenced throughout.

I particularly enjoyed the third and final part of the novel, in which Rani's funeral rites are described in detail. Not only was it interesting to read about how a culture different from my own deals with the heart-breaking inevitability of death, but all this external description blended perfectly with Krishan's internal meditations on Rani, her life and death, and life and death in general.

There was a recurring motif, throughout the novel, about the concept of vision and the way that certain images, violent and otherwise, imprint themselves on our retinas (metaphorically) and how they are then superimposed over everything else we see.

It was an interesting concept on the nature of love and grief, and how the two things are inexorably linked.

The universal themes of soul-searching, grief, love and relationships made it so that anyone, from anywhere, can read and relate to this masterful storytelling. It's five stars from me. Looking forward to more beautiful prose from Arudpragasam.