Ondaatje's novel set during Sri Lanka's civil war, following a forensic anthropologist sent by an international human rights group to investigate war crimes. The book moves between Colombo, Kandy, and the ruins of the ancient cities of the north. It captures the violence and moral complexity of the conflict without reducing it to either side's narrative — a difficult achievement given how polarized the war made Sri Lankan discourse.
Essential reading for anyone trying to understand what the country went through in the years before the peace and what the recovery means.