Island of a Thousand Mirrors (Munaweera) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. In  this  book,  Munaweera  takes  on  the  point  of  views  of  both a Sinhala woman and a Tamil woman. Why do you think she made this decision? What does it mean to try and express both points of view when the subject is a civil war? Do you think she was more successful in painting one or the other of these women? Which one and why do you think so?

2. Did your reading of the Prologue change after you finished reading the book? How?

3. This is a book partly about the process of immigration. Do you think Munaweera successfully captured the pleasures and pains of immigration? Did she successfully express the divided nature of the immigrant? Did she do so in ways that reminded you of other authors or was the experience of reading this book quite different?

4. This novel has been compared to The God of Small Things, Anil’s Ghost, and The Kite Runner. If you’ve read these books, do you think these are fair comparisons? Why or why not? Are there other authors/books Munaweera’s style reminds you of?

5. Visaka and Ravan’s love is thwarted but their children go on to fall in love. What dose Munaweera seem to be saying about destiny, the acts/sins of parents, the nature of love?

6. The big white house on the seaside in Colombo figures prominently in this book. It is where Visaka grows up, where Yasodhara is brought after she is born and where the Upstairs-Downstairs wars take place. What does this house seem to represent in the book?

7. The riots in 1983  are described as a pivot point in the history of Sri Lanka and in the plot of the book. Were these scenes similar to painful moments in other parts of the world? Saraswathie grows up with aspirations of becoming a teacher. Do you think what happens to her subsequently is plausible? Do you think Munaweera properly describes the process by which a normal girl might become a suicide bomber?

9. The scene of Saraswathie’s rape is extremely traumatic and Munaweera has admitted that it was quite difficult for her to write. Do you think the scene was necessary in the book or should literature stay away from depicting the most painful events in a character’s life? Why do you think Munaweera chose to include this scene?

10. Would you describe this book as a feminist work? If so, why?

11. Munaweera has admitted that this is a book obsessed with food. Did you find this to be true? Did the book make you interested in finding out more about Sri Lankan cuisine?

12. What does the ending message of the book seem to be?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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