Doing wonders with 'common place' issues

Reviewed by Prof. S. W. Perera

Asitha Ameresekere, Wedding Gifts and Other Presents. Colombo: Perera-Hussein Publishing House, 2008. Rs. 490.

The twelve stories in Asitha Ameresekere's Wedding Gifts and Other Presents, his first attempt at fiction, will never earn the Petrachan reprimand "sameness is the mother of disgust" because these vignettes differ from each other in style, language, setting, and subject matter. A reputed maker of short films, Ameresekere has also utilized his cinematic vision to structure some of the stories. Since the exigencies of space preclude lengthy analyses of such techniques as they affect the stories, however, it is best for the reviewer to provide insights into some of the "Presents" and allow readers to discover the rest for themselves.

"Shame of the Pig" focuses, in unusual vein, on the commonplace theme of illusion versus reality. Guiseppe is fascinated by the poised, sophisticated appearance of a "goddess" whom he later courts and marries. He discovers eventually, however, that the woman's dress and bearing conceal major social deficiencies. What gives the story its poignancy is Guiseppe's decision to copy her lack of social graces (eating like a pig to be exact) as a gesture of solidarity even when hosting an eminent politician to dinner. This story could be contrasted with "Some place, Montana" which explores the sterility and boredom that enervate some marriages after years of cohabitation. Tobias's and Winnie's humdrum existence is enlivened when strangers come into their midst but their departure further exacerbates the couple's isolation. A particularly moving eco-story, which has faint echoes of R. K. Narayan's The Guide, is "A Little Rest," a piece that is enriched with the introduction of magic realism towards the end, and the suggestion that the "holy man" was perhaps a tree.

The most haunting piece of all is "A Song and a Dance" in which an orphaned girl who had brought joy to a band of gypsies with her dancing and a travelling organist who had helped revive a moribund Christian congregation, meet unexpectedly and fall in love. The villagers who have become totally dependent on the organist resent Salvatore's decision to leave so they destroy the mobile organ with which he had welded the community together and which constituted his only means of livelihood. As an artistic exploration of folk culture, possessiveness, ingratitude, the capriciousness of human beings, and the multifaceted nature of love, this story is second to none.Perhaps placed first because of its palpably Sri Lanka setting, "The Litmus Test" is not necessarily the best in the collection. Rajasingha, a widower and an English tuition master living in a village, fails to find a suitable partner for his overly protected daughter among his students. The reader tires of hearing that "Fernando's personal pronouns were atrocious" and that de Silva "had a problem with his tenses." Yet the story has an anti-climatic and engaging ending. A potential partner is unexpectedly identified when his student Manju's brother arrives to articulate in impressive English that Manju is unable to attend class.

His waving familiarly at Rajasingha's daughter's half open window prior to leaving also makes the father realize that his daughter had been looking after her own interests unbeknownst to him. "Sonnet Story" and "Stoned Angels," which playfully "spoof" the life and work of two canonical English authors, will be particularly appreciated by students of Shakespeare and Keats, respectively.Ameresekere's consummate awareness of what makes a good story, his quirky sense of humour, and his ability to supply many points of view in the telling-including that of a dog-disclose a complex literary sensibility that belies his neophyte status as a writer. Perera-Hussein should be congratulated on publishing another book that is "out-of-the ordinary" while dealing with commonplace issues.

(Prof. S. W. Perera is attached to the , Department of English, University of Peradeniya)

Book Review

'A companion to problem- based learning'

Reviewed by Vidya Jyothi Professor Colvin Goonaratna, FRCP, PhD

Clinical Surgery Made Easy. By Professor Mohan de Silva,

Fashions in allopathic medical practice seem to change almost as often as fashions in women's designer clothes. And trends in the relatively young speciality called "medical education" must perforce strive to keep pace to justify its raison d'etre. Hence we have in the past three decades or so witnessed a proliferation of fashionable technical jargon such as patient management plans, best evidence-based practice, and clinical guidelines in the domain of medical and surgical practice, and learner-centred teaching, problem-based learning, laterally and vertically integrated teaching/learning, and learning objectives (recently metamorphosed into "outcomes") in the field of medical education.

The temptation to follow fashion is strong, and its allure frequently irresistible. To be perceived as being out of step with fashion is to court derision from colleagues and rejection by internet-educated patients. In medical practice as well as in medical education, fashions may come and fashions may go, but some things must be everlasting. In clinical practice they include competence, compassion, and respect for human life and patient autonomy. In medical education I choose two definitions above all else: that of "learner" (an individual who wants to learn) and "teacher" (someone who loves to teach, and does so with flair).

An outstanding academic clinician

Professor Mohan de Silva belongs in that special galaxy of outstanding products of the Colombo Medical School who embody all the defining characteristics demanded of an academic clinician: humane compassionate doctor, dedicated teacher both in precept and practice, accomplished researcher, and of course, brilliant surgeon. And now he has further extended his repertoire of talents to writing a book on clinical surgery, principally for medical students and young doctors. The book comprises 28 chapters: the first and second are devoted respectively to the rational approach towards clinical surgical problems and the general principles involved in solving them. The other chapters are a series of step by step analytical discussions, each one dealing with a common surgical problem eg. breast lump, dyspepsia, altered bowel habits, head injury, acute abdomen, thyroid mass, scrotal swelling, bladder outflow obstruction etc. The other special features of the chapters are a problem-solving approach, and a distinctive clinical management focus based on fairly straightforward clinical skills and current best evidence.

Each chapter begins with a clear statement of learning objectives and a concise story of a patient's clinical problem, followed by a resume of the findings on clinical examination and initial investigations, a tentative management plan and timely reminders of the patient's progress.

\As in real life clinical situations, the rest of the story unfolds steadily but unhurriedly, often with several intriguing twists and turns such as an unexpected laboratory test result, an MRI scan finding or a biopsy report.

Management plans may then need some modification or even radical revision. These could predicate a profound change in the prognosis of the disease which can challenge the communication skills of the most experienced clinician.

Probing questions for readers

At strategic points in the narrative the author introduces questions that probe the leaners' core knowledge in anatomy, pathophysiology, biochemistry and clinical surgery. Is CEA useful in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer? Could this patient be having a perforated peptic ulcer? What is prostate specific antigen? He provides succinct answers to these questions so that the narrative does not lose either its momentum or mesmerising quality. The narrative is punctuated also by particularly valuable "clinical points" in prominent boxes. Here is a small selection: puckering of the skin strongly indicates that there is an underlying malignant lesion (of the breast); jaundice, pale stools and pruritus (itching) are the classical clinical features of extrahepatic biliary obstruction; anal fissure is the commonest cause of anal pain; CEA is not recommended for colon cancer screening. The importance of multidisciplinary team meetings and recourse to internationally accepted guidelines in clinical decision making are regularly emphasised.

The other attractive attributes of Professor Mohan de Silva's book include appropriate and illustrative photographs - most of them in colour - and clear line diagrams, and at the end of each chapter, four or five objective self-assessment questions that tend to stimulate reflection and reinforce learning.

In my view, the key messages underpinning the book's thematic chapters are: have a strong and comprehensive core knowledge foundation of the basic sciences relevant to medical practice, hone your clinical skills, be a reflective, rational and analytical clinician. Senior medical students and young doctors finding their feet in what is surely the most demanding field of human endeavour and most emotionally rewarding profession will find this book a very helpful guide whatever speciality they intend to pursue. Clinical teachers of all specialities would do well to emulate its systematic approach.

Medical libraries should stock it in their book-shelves. And Professor Mohan de Silva deserves to be congratulated for having produced it.

'Short, but sweet'

Mama - Collection of seven short stories

It's hard to explain the benefits of becoming a journalist. Being a journalist simply means having an unlimited visa to travel the man's life. But you have to grab a chance to get your experience published in a book from one day. Only a few have achieved this challenge.

Martin Wickramasinghe, Dayasena Gunasinghe, Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra and a few others top the list.

Channa Bandara Dolapihilla has journalistic experience of over 30 years and no doubt he has travelled a lot in man's life. With his short story collection of 7 he shares but briefly some of his experiences with us. Those experiences are sombre at times, indifferent most of the time. What is admired about Dolapihilla is that his use of language is simple and readable: this is more accredited to the discipline he has gained from being a journalist. And his story plots are somewhat strange.

Take his first, the title story for instance. The narrator is dead! What the reader visualises is what the dead narrates. He observes funeral environment without him getting involved in it, but yet in which he has become the centre of attraction. He observes the hypocrisy of the living beings: majority being his relations and others, the well-wishers. The second story, though based on a common plot, is presented in a novel way; a servant boy thinking about his past, and the story ends with his dream world shattered by the beating of the lady of the house.

The third story, a translation from a Bulgarian source, brings us the warmth and the greatness of motherhood. The story, however, would have been better had the author taken simple steps to make it look more original; the translation seems so word-to-word.

The fourth story is the most readable, as it involves a lot of dialogues within. Although it's based on the common issue of political lackeys, the story is a little different as author narrates how a state-run company high-up spends the election-day with tension. The most interesting story is woven around a drug addict. Dolapihilla has not mentioned a single word about the drug addiction though it is the main subject of the story.

Dolapihilla's work is interesting that can be finished within a very short period. Just try out reading it, it's just 55 pages!

First-time novelist wins Booker

Aravind Adiga has won this year's Man Booker Prize with his debut novel The White Tiger.The 33-year-old Indian-born writer was also the youngest author on the shortlist.He beat favourite Sebastian Barry to take the Euro 50,000 prize. The other contenders were Amitav Ghosh, Steve Toltz, Linda Grant and Philip Hensher.

Chairman of the judges, former politician Michael Portillo, said: "In many ways it was the perfect novel." The White Tiger, a tale of two Indias, tells the story of Balram, the son of a rickshaw puller in the heartlands, one of the "faceless" poor left behind by the country's recent economic boom.It charts his journey from working in a teashop to entrepreneurial success.

Announcing the winner at a ceremony in London, Mr Portillo said: "My criteria were 'Does it knock my socks off?' and this one did ... the others impressed me ... this one knocked my socks off."Mr Portillo said what set the book apart was its originality in showing "the dark side of India".

He said: "The novel is in many ways perfect. It is quite difficult to find any structural flaws with it." There were more than two contenders for the prize on the shortlist, but the winner was "absolutely not a compromise", Mr Portillo added.

"There really was a decision. The judges were asked to express their satisfaction and they all did." Adiga is the third first-time novelist to win the prize. Previous debut winners were Arundhati Roy in 1997 for God of Small Things and DBC Pierre in 2003 for Vernon God Little.Adiga is a former correspondent for Time magazine and has written for the Independent, and the Sunday Times.The win means he can expect an upturn in sales and added recognition.According to Amazon.co.uk, the six books enjoyed average sales rises of 700% following the announcement of the shortlist last month.Booksellers Foyles said it was a "very exciting winner for bookshops" adding it could prove as popular as The Life of Pi, the Booker's bestselling winner.

When asked if the win was important to him, Adiga told the BBC: "It is important to my publishers, so what's important to them is important to me." Adiga, who had been given odds of 7/1 to win before the ceremony, dedicated the award to "the people of New Delhi".Irish writer Barry had been tipped to take the prize at 7/4 by bookmakers William Hill.The bookmakers' favourite has not won since Yann Martel in 2002.Of the six authors in contention for this year's Man Booker, only Barry had ever been shortlisted in the past - in 2005 for A Long Long Way.

Grant and Hensher had both previously been longlisted.The award, which honours the best fiction written in English by an author from the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth, was handed out at the Guildhall in London on Tuesday. (BBC)