Poetic Sri Lankan Memoir
Running in the Family
Michael Ondaatje returns to his native Sri Lanka after years abroad to piece together the fragmented stories of his family's colourful and often outrageous past.
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About the book
Through a series of vivid vignettes, he reconstructs the lives of his parents and their peers during the final years of British colonial rule—a world of eccentric characters, scandalous affairs, and legendary parties that burned bright against the backdrop of Ceylon's lush landscape. Part memoir, part myth-making, this poetic exploration blurs the boundaries between memory and imagination. Ondaatje weaves together family anecdotes, historical fragments, and his own observations to create a dreamlike portrait of a vanished era. The result is a stunning meditation on inheritance, identity, and the elusive nature of truth when stories are passed down through generations.
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