Noontide Toll - Hardcover

by Romesh Gunesekera (Author)

In postwar Sri Lanka, a hired driver observes his passengers--tourists, soldiers, businessmen, and others--in these linked stories by a "master storyteller" (The New York Times).

Vasantha retired early, bought himself a van, and now works as a driver for hire. As he drives through Sri Lanka, carrying aid workers, entrepreneurs, and visiting families; meeting lonely soldiers and eager hoteliers, he engages them with self-deprecating wit and folksy wisdom--while revealing to us their uncertain lives with piercing insight.

On his journey from the army camps in northern Jaffna to the moonlit ramparts of Galle, in the south, Vasantha slowly discovers the depth of his country's troubles--as well as his own--while catching a glimmer of the promise the future might hold.

From the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Reef comes a collection of "gracefully crafted road stories" that draws a potent portrait of postwar Sri Lanka and the ghosts of civil war (TheGuardian).

Praise for Romesh Gunesekera
"Monkfish Moon strikes the reader like a hammer blow. . . . Gunesekera's subtly erotic prose animates Sri Lanka's natural luxuriance, veined with menace." --Voice Literary Supplement

Author Biography

Romesh Gunesekera is the author of eight highly acclaimed works, including "Reef," which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and "The Guardian" Fiction Prize; "The Sandglass," winner of the BBC Asia Award; "The Match"; and a collection of stories, "Monkfish Moon" (all available from The New Press). He lives in London.