A reflection of the times we live in

Book: Reflections in Loneliness

Author: Chandana Ruwan Jayanetti

Reviewed by: Kamala Wijeratne

The maiden publication of Chandana Ruwan Jayanetti, titled Reflections in Loneliness is a creative composition of prose and poetry.

Set in the backdrop of the hills that overlook the Kaluganga Basin, Chandana's narratives are fresh and simple without pretentiousness and embellishment and engage the reader with their honesty and delicate humour.

His prose is specially powerful, involving an era long past, but remembered with starkness and a detached fondness, that make it appealing. The idiosyncrasies of people living in closed societies, their tattinesses as well as their magnanimities are dwelt upon with sympathy and tolerance.

His poetry reflects the times: the thirty-year war that gripped the nation, its fallout on combatant and civilian is captured with empathy. The outlook is not partisan - it is human. Every day events are presented with deep emotion like the Bird's Nest. So are the poignant ones like To Seamen Wanniarachchi.

Chandana shows promise as a young writer who has balanced his acquired cultural knowledge with his own roots. The themes and topics he writes on are very Sri Lankan. He uses the English language to give them voice.