Customer Reviews

Cinnamon Gardens

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I became interested in Shyam Selvadurai's novels after he came to read at my high school a little while ago. He read from "Funny Boy", and I got so intrigued I went right to the library to pick it up. I had it read in three days. About a month and a half later, I picked up "Cinnamon Gardens"

Selvadurai's novels both deal with Sri Lanka (Ceylon during the 20s), politics, and the social constraints of Asian society. I've read a lot of books, but for some reason, Selvadurai's strike me as the most honest.

It's so refreshing to read a novel in which nobody is simply "Good" or "Bad". The people are real, rounded characters with dreams and fears, desires and regrets. The prose is written in the third person but there is none of the tiresome self-absorbed banter that often plagues novels about serious issues such as homosexuality, self-government, and women's rights. Reading Selvadurai's prose, you feel as though you are experiencing events, not being told that they are occurring.

I actually found "Cinnamon Gardens" more enjoyable than "Funny Boy" if only because it was a continuous novel, allowing for more character development than the six short stories in "Funny Boy". Somehow, with his plain style, Selvadurai made the characters real. I found myself sympathizing with them right from the very beginning.

It's too bad the book was double spaced and in large font, because I could have read a thousand pages of this novel and still felt like it was too short.

I can't wait until Mr. Selvadurai's next novel is finished. He told us it would be set in Toronto, which promises a very interesting perspective.

A real achievement.

I loved reading this book. The characters are likable - the setting is interesting - the tension is just perfect. I agree with The Advocate review: An old-fashioned page turner with a literary heart . . . . melodrama that does not ignore the mind." Thank you Mr. Shyam Selvadurai!

After reading 'Funny Boy', I was eagerly awaiting Selvadurai's second offering. It is a very well written novel contrary to the reviews I had read. Selvadurai truly has the talent of a good writer. I picked up Funny Boy out of curiosity and events in my personal life and was hooked at his way of narrating a story. The characters of Annulakshmi and Balendran captivated me as much as that of Radha Aunty and Arjie in Funny Boy. I don't if it is just me, but I seemed to have noticed that Selvadurai has a way of emphasing the relationship between the main characters in an Aunt-Nephew role(Radha Aunty-Arjie) or Uncle-Niece role(Balendran-Annulaksmi). The first half of the book dealt with a little too much history, but I think that was necessary to establish the mood of the period. I really liked the way the book ended, however the romantic in me would have preferred a different ending for Annulakshmi's character. All in all, it is a must read. And here's hoping that Selvadurai continues to enthrall readers.

This is such a lovely book, evocative of another time and place which is beautiful and scented, that you might miss its real substance! This would make a wonderful Merchant-Ivory film or Masterpiece Theatre. It's full of modern concerns which are actually timeless. The writing is beautiful and serves the great diversity of characers well. They come from all strata of society, mixing up caste and religions and nationalities in a very believable way. The characters strive to make choices which are true to themselves yet sometimes work against those of others - again, in a very believable and touching way. I really loved this book and its many-faceted people, and would give it five stars in any company.

I could almost smell the spices and taste the scent of flower-laden air. The social web of demands is sensitive and true to the environment. The book is romantic and sensuous, hopeful and pitifully sad. It teems with atmosphere, politics, intrigue and disappointment and sacrifices made to maintain a better world. The ending was unsatisfactory. One star character showed her maddening and perhaps arrogant side. Somehow, the decisons made didn't ring true. Nevertheless, such are one's choices, and I recommend this novel without hesitation.
I have been told Cinnamon Gardens was recommended by a well-respeccted university as reading material prior to an academic and cultural trip the institution was leading there.
To understand Sri Lanka today, you must read this.

After reading this author's first book, "Funny Boy," I went right to this. Like "Funny Boy," it is rich with culture, history and politics, all wrapped up in a fulfilling, captivating story. This book, set in the 1920s, has two parallel narratives.

The first is of Annalukshmi, a young, independent woman from Ceylon who struggles with her family's (and society's) insistence on an arranged marriage. The other narrative is about her uncle Balendran, a businessman who has obeyed familial restrictions and expectations, at great emotional sacrifice. Both of their worlds get turned upside down--by the actions of others, and how they choose to react to others in light of their own internal changes.

The many other characters are well-drawn, and it's a gripping story you don't want to end. When all the plot lines are tied up, though, it leaves you with a feeling of deep satisfaction and of having seen, and learned from, important lives of an earlier time. Quality writing, superb story-telling and peerless creation of a environment little known to most Westerners.

This book was given to me while I was in the hospital. Even though I was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything for more than 5 minutes I could not put this book down. Everything about the book was fascinating to me, the culture, the characters and the politics. I was transported from my drab hospital room into a warm flower scented country.

I was struck by the relevance of this book; the conflict and misunderstanding between ethnic peoples who share a country is happening all over the world, atrocities continue and innocent people are caught in the crossfire. This story could be set in Rwanda, Serbia or the middle east.

I have since read Funny Boy and I eagerly await Mr. Slavaduri's next book.

I really enjoyed this book. It made me want to go to Sri Lanka . I enjoyed learning about an exotic locale. What I especially enjoyed was the fact that the characters made realistic choices for the time and place that they lived in. I thought the two main charcters were very well drawn

CINNAMON GARDENS is really two gently unfolding stories of the effects an oppressive society (or family) can have on love and hope. The first story is that of Annalukshmi-a young teacher who simply wants to forge her own way through life, without being bound by societal conventions. She is a teacher, who dreams of being a headmistress, until she learns that because she is not English it can never happen. She hopes to find a loving relationship, but instead must struggle with the necessity of arranged marriages. Selvadurai beautifully portrays her inner conflict and frustration with the limitations imposed upon her, and the open-ended resolution of her story is so completely in tune with her character.

The second story is that of Balendran, the beloved younger son of a wealthy businessman. When the man with whom he had an affair during college in England comes to Ceylon, Balendran gets a glimpse of how differently his life could have turned out had his father not abruptly ended the affair. He is forced to look at where he is and where he could have been, and to decide where he wants to be in the future. Several other events force Balendran to take control at last of his life, instead of letting others control it for him.

Selvadurai allows the stories to quietly be told. CINNAMON GARDENS is not a page-turner in the usual sense of the word, but I guarantee if you read it you'll want to stick with it to see where Balendran and Annalukshmi end up.

I was very pleased to see this book on the shelf, as _Funny Boy_ is one of my favorite books. _Cinnamon Gardens_ is definitely a pleasure, but not in the same league. In fact, a good part of my enjoyment of this later book is probably derived from remembering how much I enjoyed the earlier book--from the feeling, you might say, of having another chance to spend virtual time with the author, whom one can't help liking.

I was disappointed by occasionally stilted prose, and characters whose actions sometimes seem contrived. _Funny Boy_ was smaller in scope--a delightful, fascinating and careful study of a smaller group over a shorter time period--and I felt that in contrast, the author had taken on a bit more than he could deftly handle with _Cinnamon Gardens._ It hopes to be a sweeping multigenerational epic, but I felt that some stories got short shrift; some aspects were rushed through, and some characters seemed undeservedly underdeveloped--a smaller canvas seems better suited to the author's undeniably tremendous talent.

This doesn't mean that the book is not enjoyable--on the contrary I found it pleasant and interesting/informative. But to really see why Selvadurai is so worthy of admiration, and why his many fans will wait for his next book with the greatest anticipation, it's probably a good idea to read this....after you read _Funny Boy_ first.