When Romesh Gunesekera published

in 2014, the Sri Lankan civil war had been over for less than five years. Yet Gunesekera's novel reveals that, following a three-decade long war, the violent past still remains unresolved. The novel focuses on the experiences of Vasantha, a van driver who takes tourists, soldiers and entrepreneurs to various destinations across the war-torn country, which is also reflected in the novel's form: half of the text is set in the North, the other half in the South of Sri Lanka. Apart from protagonist Vasantha—and his witty, often sarcastic commentary as first-person narrator—, new characters and storylines are introduced with each chapter, whose narrative style and structure rather resemble short stories. Every chapter provides the reader…

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Citation: Varnhorn, Laura. "Noontide Toll". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 December 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38860, accessed 16 April 2024.]