Retired sportswriter WG Karunasena is dying. He will spend his final months drinking arrack, making his wife unhappy, ignoring his son and tracking down Pradeep S. Mathew, a spin bowler who has mysteriously disappeared and who WG considers 'the greatest cricketer to walk the earth'. On his quest to find this unsung genius, WG uncovers a coach with six fingers, a secret bunker below a famous stadium, a Tamil Tiger warlord, and startling truths about Sri Lanka, cricket and himself. Ambitious, playful and strikingly original, "Chinaman" is a novel about cricket and Sri Lanka - and the story of modern day Sri Lanka through its most cherished sport. Hailed by the Gratiaen Prize judges as 'one of the most imaginative works of contemporary Sri Lankan fiction', it is an astounding book.

Chinaman: A Novel

Karunatilaka, Shehan

Literature & Fiction

JONATHAN CAPE

Winner of the Commonwealth Book Prize
* Winner of the $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature * * A Publishers Weekly "First Fiction" Pick for Spring 2012 *
"A crazy ambidextrous delight. A drunk and totally unreliable narrator runs alongside the reader insisting him or her into the great fictional possibilities of cricket."--Michael Ondaatje
Aging sportswriter W.G. Karunasena's liver is shot. Years of drinking have seen to that. As his health fades, he embarks with his friend Ari on a madcap search for legendary cricket bowler Pradeep Mathew. En route they discover a mysterious six-fingered coach, a Tamil Tiger warlord, and startling truths about their beloved sport and country. A prizewinner in Sri Lanka, and a sensation in India and Britain, The Legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan Karunatilaka is a nimble and original debut that blends cricket and the history of modern Sri Lanka into a vivid and comedic swirl.

The Legend of Pradeep Mathew: A Novel

Literary

Graywolf Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Karunatilaka, Shehan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Karunatilaka, Shehan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Karunatilaka, Shehan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Chinaman: A Novel

The Legend of Pradeep Mathew: A Novel