First published 2024
A Sri Lankan president sits in a London cab when the driver delivers shocking news about a car bomb targeting schoolgirls. Only the driver knows the explosive exists. Meanwhile, across these interconnected tales, an advertising agency confronts the destruction of compromising employee photographs. A man everyone believes has vanished writes quietly beside the ocean. A mysterious entity remembers its countless reincarnations and the ridiculous deaths it has suffered through the ages. Three colonial Europeans enter a Ceylon tavern with elaborate drug smuggling plans. Karunatilaka weaves these stories together with sharp humor and dark observations about fate, power, and human folly. Each tale examines how ordinary people navigate extraordinary circumstances, from political conspiracies to cosmic jokes. The collection explores themes of chance, mortality, and the absurd lottery of existence while maintaining Karunatilaka's signature blend of comedy and social commentary.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, literary-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: interconnected-stories, ordinary-people-in-extraordinary-circumstances
Setting: Ceylon, London
Period: 21st-century
Kindle Edition · Fleet