A treasure trove of stories
When the New York Times reviewed ‘Island of a Thousand Mirrors’ – Nayomi Munaweera’s prize-winning debut – they said the novel’s “beating heart” was not so much its characters but Sri Lanka itself. Munaweera’s love for this island stays true in her second, much anticipated novel ‘What Lies Between Us.’
Included in lists of 2016’s most anticipated books from outlets like Buzzfeed, The Millions and Brooklyn Magazine, ‘What Lies Between Us’sees Munaweera return to the land of her birth. “Sri Lanka is endlessly fascinating,” says the author who is currently on a tour to promote her new book. “It has such an endless supply of stories- it’s a treasure trove. I’m honoured to get to explore these stories, both the painful and joyous parts of this place.” In the email interview below, Munaweera talks to the Sunday Times about her new book, her sense of identity, and how she writes the kind of book she would like to read.
- Your second novel ‘What Lies Between Us’ has been very well received. Will you tell us about the book?
It’s the story of a woman who has committed a very terrible crime. She’s in prison and the book is her confession. In the course of the book she tells you the story of her life. It’s a novel that is interested in and explores the consequences of childhood trauma upon an adult life.
- How different was the process of publishing your second book in comparison to your first? Will you speak of the way you crafted this book? In what ways have you evolved as a writer?
The publication process was much easier. It took me more than a decade to publish my first novel, Island of a Thousand Mirrors. Most publishing houses in the US rejected the book. It was finally picked up by Perera Hussein in Sri Lanka, then sold in India and was up for some big prizes including the DSC before the American publishing houses took interest. When they finally did there was a mini bidding war and St Martin’s Press gave me a two book contract. What Lies Between Us is the second book in that contract. But it’s not a sequel; it’s a stand-alone novel of its own. Since it was already bought when I was writing it- there wasn’t the pressure to find a publisher that the first book had- that gave me a tremendous amount of freedom that I’m very grateful for.
Additionally, writing this second book was more intense in some ways because it’s an emotional subject. I had to do some difficult research and writing in order to produce it. Then again, because it is the second book, it was easier in that I knew what I was doing. I think that my voice may be more assured in this book. I wasn’t stumbling around in the dark as much as with the first one. However, the self-doubt, fear and all that was exactly the same. I didn’t know if people would connect with this book until the reviews started pouring in. I had done the best job I could do but you never know if people will like it until it’s out.
- You’ve said you are intimate with Sri Lanka but you feel American. How does that dichotomy feed your work? What are some of the things you have to juggle when you write a novel that bestrides two countries?
I’ve had to define myself as a Sri Lankan-American because people ask me to define myself. I live mostly in America but wouldn’t say I feel American- of course this changes from moment to moment so I probably did say that I felt more American at some other point. In America, however, being American is still quite tied to white skin so although I’ve lived there since 1984, I’m still not really seen as an American. In Sri Lanka people often think of me as a foreigner, which I quite understand. I’m very much someone who lives in the spaces between these two homes. It’s a good space for a writer to be in-you get to see both places with the somewhat new eyes of the outsider.
- One reviewer compared the “heart-wrenching darkness” in the book’s latter half to Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved.’ As a writer, you’ve confronted some particularly harrowing subjects – abuse, communal violence, mental illness – are you ever concerned that readers will turn away from the page or do you see much of this resonating with a wide audience?
I write the books that I would be most interested in reading. As a reader I’m not interested in the easy or the simple. I want to read a book that as Kafka says will be “an ax to break into the frozen seas inside us.” That’s the kind of book I’m interested in writing too. I don’t think too much about audience when I’m writing. A big idea comes and I jump on it. It has to be something that will sustain my interest for years. So I really don’t think about whether people will be turned off or not. More than this, I do think readers are looking for the deeper, harder books, the ones that have the power to touch and perhaps change them. This has certainly been my experience when I meet my readers who often am glad that I took on the harder subjects.
- How has your life changed as you have become better known?
The deeper part really hasn’t changed. When I’m doing the real work, when I’m writing, as I am now- working on a third book, it’s just me and the blank and terrifying page and I have to grapple with whatever it is I’ve decided to spend the next few years of my life thinking about. It’s a very solitary, internal job. We don’t have co-workers the way most people do. Most days it’s just me in a robe at my computer. This of course is not what people see, which is the other more glamorous part of the job. That part is fun and I love connecting with readers but the real wok of the job hasn’t really changed at all.
- You were recently in Sri Lanka for the Fairway Galle Literary Festival. What was your experience like and how did you find people respond to your work here?
I loved being at the Galle Lit Fest. It was such a treat to be in Sri Lanka and around writers from all over the world. I felt like two of my dearest loves were united- this gorgeous country and literature. It really was a highlight of my writing life so far.