Monkfish Moon

The nights had always been noisy: frogs, drums, bottles, dogs barking at the moon. Then one evening there was silence.
— from A House in the Country, the first story in Monkfish Moon

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

‘[his] language has a simple surface-but the simplicity is deceptive; his observation is as close as the stare of a voyeur.’ Sabine Durrant,  Independent

 ‘Strikes the reader like a hammer blow...[the] subtly erotic prose animates Sri Lanka's natural luxuriance, veined with menace...’ Nisid Hajari, Voice Literary Supplement

 ‘Tropic lushness burgeons from every cranny of these stories...there are spice gardens, flame trees, frangipani and hibiscus hedges. But all this merely seems a luscious veil behind which violence and viciousness hide...Graceful and grim, [these stories] constitute carefully civilized bulletins on barbarity's reverberations.’ Peter Kemp, Sunday Times

‘The delicate firmness … gives this collection a haunting, eye-opening quality’ Ruth Pavey, Observer

‘The most startling aspect of this evocative book is how distinct one tale proves from another. These sad, spare stories illustrate the shocking fragility of the whole modern world.’ Suzanne Berne, New York Times Book Review

‘Full of the uncertain sadness of exiles and dreamers...Gunesekera's characters become memorable emblems of solitude and despair...[His] prose pulses with precision, without stridency or showiness...’ Natasha Walters, Vogue

‘A finely honed descriptive pen, and each page is vivid with atmosphere and sensations, bringing alive the tropical island. The tension of ethnic strife is palpable...his stories resonate, haunt you with elusive truths he never named.’ Tarun Tejpal, India Today

‘[He] portrays with striking sensitivity .. and poetic modulation, experiences which are essentially Sri Lankan’ Jayadeva, Island



Celebrating 25 years: Monkfish Moon @ 25

To buy

Order from your local bookshop or any on-line store.

In India try Flipkart.

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In the US try Barnes & Noble or go to Buy from Amazon link