සිල් සුවඳ

මිනිසත්කමේ අරුතක් නොදුටු ලෝකයෙන්
ක්ෂණයකට පැන ආමි
කොන්ක්‍රීට් වනයක
නෙක සුවපහසුකම් මැද
නොලත් සැනසිල්ල
සුදුවතින් සරසිච්ච
මේ මහා මිනිස් ගඟ මැද දුටුවෙමි
මිනිසත්කමේ
ඒ සොඳුරු හසරැල්ල...

The long walk to freedom

I felt as if I’m listening to a grandfather who relates his personal stories. It was a long read but yet it worth all the time spent. He might not be a great writer yet his huge collection of life experiences make him a great story teller. He describes a horrific part of the human history in a way that gives reader goose bumps.
I believe it’s a book that should be read by every human being just to appreciate how gifted we are to enjoy freedom in many different ways. I was greatly moved by the fact that I myself wouldn’t have had the luxury to cast a vote if I was born in South Africa few decades ago simply because I’m a woman and my skin is brown.
For me the three highlights of the book were first, it’s ordinary men and women who make a huge difference in the world, If one follows his story closely it’s apparent that he was a pretty ordinary person who raised for the occasion. Secondly, one shouldn’t take the right to vote for granted, for many people have paid the price of right to vote of future generations with their own life, and thirdly, the leaders are usually over glorified. There were eight other people who were locked inside for the same time duration as Nelson Mandela, but many don’t even know their names.
In a nutshell I believe a man is not man until he reads “The long walk to freedom”

After dark

This is my first fiction by Haruki Murakami. Since I’m living in Tokyo it made me look at some things in a different perspective. For me it showed a different side of this elegant city, the side of the city that no one would ever discuss in Japan. The book also touches the complexities in Japanese society such as the enormous amount of stress levels of Japanese salary men and the higher expectations and lower satisfaction of Japanese parents with their children's achievements. The writer was also trying to talk about the dark side of human beings. It was a good read but it felt more like reading a short story. I am a passive reader who is more in to the story and the plot rather than all the hidden metaphors. Therefore I am not fully satisfied with the book.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

This is a must read for anyone who finds it hard to live in the moment. It surely was a life changer for me for only after reading first few chapters that I realized that I've been unconscious most of the time. We are either thinking about past or projecting ourselves in future all the time and we miss the present which is the only reality we have.

Reading this book was quite a challenge. I found it really boring during the first few pages for the writer was defining words. Also some examples that mentioned the word 'God' was utterly useless on me. I know it's just a symbol that the writer used so that many who believe in god can fully understand what he talks about.

This book had a great impact on me but due to the above reasons I give it a four.

The kite runner

I read the book amidst of three assignments simply because it is one of those books that you can’t put down once you get started. The book shocked me to the core in many ways. It was the first time for me to read an Afghan book. While it talks about Afghans who got oppressed by Russians, Talibans as well as Americans, it also touches the persecution of minorities. Above all it was a touching story about complex human relationships, loyalty and betrayals.
Zindagi migzara- life goes on

100 years of solitude

I truly believe that this book is highly overrated. This is considered one of the best books in the last century but reading it was a tormenting experience. I can’t believe I finished the book. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that it’s considered a master piece. Maybe I’m too dumb to understand the content. Of course there were jewels on the way and Gabriel García Márquez is a truly gifted writer. I was enthralled by “Love in the time of cholera” but this is nowhere near that.

The most annoying thing about reading the book was remembering the names of the characters who had given the same name. It got on my nerves most of the time. Sometimes the book reminded me of those dull Indian Soap operas in which the grandma never dies. On the other hand there were some pieces that were mind blowing but mostly the whole experience was quite depressing.