A journey of discovery
View(s):Book facts | Not Our War by Sanjiva Wijesinha – published by Vijitha Yapa Publications
This is a collection of wonderfully woven short stories – a must not only for every Sri Lankan but also for anyone who has been affected by and has had to deal with the horrors of war.
In these stories – many of which have won prizes in short story competitions – Dr Wijesinha deals with several themes ranging from the futility of war to love and friendship.
He is able to share with us the wonderful rapport that exists between him and his patients and draws on his years of experience of not only being a soldier and surgeon, but more importantly, a caring human being.
The stories take the reader on a journey through the hills of Diyatalawa, the coast of Kosgoda and the former war zones of Jaffna in Sri Lanka as well as to Oxford, Australia and the Falklands.
We are shown a world seen through the eyes of a person who happens to be Sri Lankan and we are introduced to his country’s culture and its people – and then shown how we are really all the same, irrelevant as to colour, class, creed, race, religion or whichever part of the world we come from.
I was genuinely touched by his stories, and recommend it highly.