The Beach at Galle Road

August 20, 2012
The long-term civil war in northern Sri Lanka rages between the Tamils and the Sinhalese in Luloff's debut collection of interwoven stories. Rather than focus on key belligerents, Luloff trains her eye on those caught in the rough wake of war. Janaki is a young woman who spends her days selling flowers and tending to her garden, children, and ailing mother-in-law. In another narrative thread, Sam, an American Peace Corps volunteer boarding at Janaki's home, falls for one of his studentsâthe graceful and vibrant Nalanthi. But when Janaki's sister, Lakshmi, returns home from the conflict-zone following her Tamil husband's disappearance, rumblings from the north begin to disrupt Janaki and co.'s domestic peace. What begins as a flirtatious courtship between Sam and Nalanthi and a warm welcome home for a long lost sibling quickly devolves as the chaos of war draws Luloff's characters into turmoil. However, while the plights of Janaki's household resonate emotionally, an underdeveloped plotâfurther disjointed by the book's organization into storiesârequires readers to fill in where Luloff fails to deliver. Agent: Christopher Vyce, The Brattle Agency.

September 15, 2012
In her debut, Luloff weaves a montage of stories into a cohesive whole as she explores the roles of tradition and family and the destructive power of war through the lives of each character. With simplicity, the author, a former Peace Corps volunteer, gives voices to those who've been touched, however remotely, by a conflict that lasted for decades and destroyed the fabric of a country. Mohan, Janaki and their two daughters live a comfortable family-oriented life in Baddegama, a village in southern Sri Lanka, and pay scant attention to the struggle occurring between Tamil insurgents and the Sinhalese government. The skirmishes are taking place in the northern section of their country, so it's had little impact on their lives. But not so for Lakshmi, Janaki's older sister: Her husband, Sunil, a Tamil sympathizer, disappeared from the streets of Colombo in 1987, and now Lakshmi is returning to her family, a person incontrovertibly different from the girl Janaki once knew. Peace Corps volunteer Sam, a boarder in Janaki's home, falls in love with a student from the north and insists on staying in the country even though his visiting parents pressure him to leave. And other volunteers, whether for altruistic reasons, adventure or escape, journey to Sri Lanka to find purpose or refuge along the beautiful beaches or in mountain retreats. Like Lucy, who manages an International Aid rest home, some discover that fulfilling a desire for adventure can lead to witnessing unimaginable horrors. Perhaps the most affecting tale is the story of Nilanthi, a brilliant young teaching candidate and the object of volunteer Sam's love. When the violence causes her program to shut down, she returns home to her parents, three brothers and best friend, Sunitha. What follows is a study of societal barriers, family dynamics and individual strength. Each story is subtly presented and, for the most part, disturbingly believable.

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September 1, 2012
Luloff, a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka in the 1990s, has written an engaging and thought-provoking collection of interconnected stories, which shed a very personal light on the civil war in that country. By means of her vibrant characters, the author conveys a real sense of the fragile state in which Sri Lanka existed during the more than 25 years in which the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils fought for control of the government. One story focuses on Janaki, whose sister travels from a refugee camp in the north, where most of the fighting took place, to live with her and her husband, a Tamil sympathizer now missing. Sam, an English teacher with the Peace Corps in Colombo, falls in love with one of his students from the northwhich comes to affect his own safety. Lucy, another Peace Corps volunteer, leaves the south and joins a UN group administering to refugees in Jaffna, many of whom have lost family members to the war. Woven together, these stories reveal the realities behind the headlines, and provide a gripping read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)