The Match

December 31, 2007
A Sri Lankan man mired in nostalgia pursues elusive passions in this fourth, bittersweet novel from award-winning Gunesekera (Heaven's Edge). Sunny Fernando, naïve and given to elaborate fantasies, arrives at the turning point in his adolescence when a cricket match brings him into close contact with fellow Sri Lankan Tina Navratanam. Sunny suffers painful disillusionment when he thinks that he has lost Tina to a friend, which leads in turn to a discovery about his mother's death. Throughout the novel, Gunesekara offers up rich characters, including Sunny's father's best friend Hector, an amiable, patient man who acts as a fairy godfather to Sunny. Delightfully cadenced dialogue reflects both the era and place, especially once Sunny leaves Manila behind for college in England. Once there he repeats the pattern of abandoning reality for visions of the past. As he moves through the seminal moments of his life-falling in love, having a child, reuniting with friends and finally visiting the country of his birth-he struggles with a sense of "existing in a special world of his own making." Gunesekara regards his characters with affectionate indulgence as he paints the evolution of intertwined lives, with the hopeful suggestion that even seemingly ingrained character flaws can be overcome.

January 15, 2008
A poet and a novelist whose "The Reef" was shortlisted for the Booker, Gunesekera tackles some soulful topics, including the effects of time and spatial relations on life, the meaning of home and family, and friends from past lives and lost loves. In a skillfully drawn narrative, we are shown glimpses of Sunny Fernando's childhood and adolescence in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sunny moves to London to attend engineering school but withstands his father's disapproval to drop out and eventually become a photographer. With the language of a poet, the author lets us understand how Sunny sees the world as he constantly seeks for the perfect photo that will capture everything in his heart. The novel climaxes at a cricket match, where Sunny meets old friends and a lost love, snapping the perfect photo that will give his soul peace. Strongly recommended for all libraries.Lisa Rohrbaugh, East Palestine Memorial P.L., OH

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2007
This gently meandering coming-of-age story effectively explores the multiple themes of immigrants in modern Britain, the effect of political upheaval, how love and intimacy shape our lives, the role of national pride, and the importance of family and friends.Entertwining these myriad threads is a daunting task, but award-winning British author Gunesekera handles it well. Born in Sri Lanka, Sunny Fernando is crazy about cricket, but when his mother dies, he and his father move to Manila, and cricket becomes a distant memory as girls and being cool take precedence. As an adult, Sunny moves to London, begins working as an engineer, settles down with his childhood sweetheart, and starts a family. He should be happy, but he's restless and dissatisfied. It's only when he attends a Test Match at the Oval (a sort of Super Bowl of cricket) that he realizes that happiness is there for the grasping. Gunesekera is a gifted storyteller, and although most of this storyfocuses on Sunny's introspective examination of life, the novel nonetheless holds reader's interest. An appealing variation on the timeless coming-of-age story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)