Doing justice to A House Divided

Sarubime Peraliya
Translator: Senaratne Weerasinghe
Prabha Publishers, Veyangoda

Reviewed by R. S. Karunaratne

Senaratne Weerasinghe's Sarubime Peraliya is the authentic Sinhala translation of the celebrated American novelist Pearl S. Buck's path breaking novel A House Divided. It is the third part of the Good Earth. Weerasinghe's translation of The Good Earth as Sarubima received rave reviews from critics. He also translated the second part of the trilogy titled Surubime Puttu.

The story in Sarubime Peraliya takes place on the banks of the Howangho River in North China. At the beginning of the 19th century China was not a developed country and western powers tried to exploit it. Britain, France, Germany and Russia had a major influence on Emperor Manchu who ruled China. It was during that time that there arose a public upheaval against the emperor and his foreign collaborators.

After the death of the emperor, an armed struggle to wrest political power was launched by Sun Yat Sen who returned to China after his self exile. To cut a long story short, the influence of the West had certain beneficial effects on China.

Political background

Sarubime Peraliya is based on the political, social and economic background during Emperor Manchu's rule. The novelist's focus is on a farmer family's third generation. Van Lung's grandson Van Yuang returns to his hometown after his education in the West. He joins a radical movement that revolts against the establishment.

Pearl S. Buck has written several novels examining the social experience of her stay in China. She has written the trilogy after a careful study of the Chinese peasants. In addition, she was heavily influenced by Buddhism and Confucius’ teachings. Jawaharlal Nehru who was fascinated by the trilogy said it helped to energise human beings to forge ahead.Sarubime Peraliya comes at a time when it is a recommended text for one of the prestigious universities of Sri Lanka. Although many people are familiar with The Good Earth, some of them have never come across the novel's second and third parts. Even the English texts are not freely available in Sri Lanka. Senaratne Weerasinghe's complete and unabridged translations of the trilogy in general and his translation of A House Divided as Sarubime Peraliya will be a landmark in the local literary sphere.

Recreation

Pearl S. Buck (1892 - 1973) was a celebrated American novelist who lived in China until 1933. She wrote more than 85 books sympathetically portraying China and its people. Senaratne Weerasinghe has been successful in recreating her simple direct style and concern for the fundamental values of human life. In fact, Pearl S. Buck was heavily influenced by the Chinese novels. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.

The Good Earth, published in 1931, was a dramatic tale of China in the 1920s. She also won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1932. Senaratne Weerasinghe's translation is equally readable like its original A House Divided.