But it a Great Cricket Novel.' - Salil Tripathi, The Independent Other worthy contenders exist, and parts of Chinaman are genuinely abstruse for those who see cricket as a game of flannelled fools. (.) What Karunatilaka has produced may or may not be the Great Sri Lankan Novel.

'Cricket allows Karunatilaka the outfield to show what his country is capable of, without being overt about it.

(.) The strength of the book lies in its energy, its mixture of humour and heartwrenching emotion, its twisting narrative, its playful use of cricketing facts and characters, and its occasional blazing anger about what Sri Lanka has done to itself.' - Kamila Shamsie, The Guardian The structure itself ultimately becomes a strength – to tell this rambunctious story neatly wouldn't have been nearly as effective.

It's impossible to say if that's the writer playing himself into form, or the reader getting her eye in. It is not without purpose - the dislocations and disorientation mirror Wije's own life - but for a while it diminishes the pleasure of the book, until suddenly it doesn't. 'Admittedly, the relentless back and forth of the narrative can be frustrating, and makes one long for the tempo of cricket rather than ping pong.Yet Chinaman’s free-wheeling, zany tempo is part of its charm too.' - Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times Pages are dense with dialogue and characters. The chronological structure darts around confusingly and there’s an awkwardly tacked-on subplot about an English expat friend accused of pederasty. ' Chinaman is the Singapore-based Karunatilaka’s first novel, and betrays a rawness you might expect from a first-timer.(.) But Karunatilka’s other big achievement is in making contemporary Sri Lanka come alive, warts and all, even for readers who may never have been there.' - Hasan Zaidi, Dawn Equally remarkable is the layered nuance he brings to W.G.’s human relationships, particularly that with his wife. 'The brilliance of Karunatilaka is in crafting a voice for his rambunctious, reflective, dying protagonist that is completely and entirely believable, not a small feat for a writer at least 20 years younger.DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, 2012ī+ : drags on a bit, and definitely cricket-heavy, but fine entertaining fun.General information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author Trying to meet all your book preview and review needs. Chinaman (The Legend of Pradeep Mathew) - Shehan Karunatilaka

Chinaman by shehan