Island of Blood [Paperback]

Anita Pratap (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2003

In this distillation of frontline experiences and cultural insights, Anita Pratap, one of the finest journalists India has ever produced, faithfully reports on the consequences of war, ethnic conflict, earthquakes, cyclones, prejudices, and the mindless hatred and fear that has hurt so much of the world. Wherever there was a story to be told-from her native India to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka-Pratap braved the odds to send in reports from the front, managing to track down elusive stories and make headlines. With determined diligence she exposed the terrors inside such frightening regimes as the Taliban, returning home each time with a renewed determination to appreciate and celebrate the ordinary.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It takes a while to get to the heart of the engrossing stories in this account by leading Indian journalist Pratap. Once there, the reader is forced to wade through Pratap's lofty self-assessments and accounts of praise she has earned during her impressive career. Still, Pratap's captivating stories overcome these weaknesses and leave the reader with a powerful human understanding of some of South Asia's most gruesome tragedies. Blending her professional experiences, historical events and personal anecdotes, Pratap devotes much of the book to her coverage of the Sri Lankan conflict. One of the few journalists to cultivate a relationship with the legendary Tamil leader Pirabhakaran, Pratap brings to life this extraordinary man and his motivations. In the process, she aptly covers both the journalist's struggles to report in conflict-ridden areas and the social and human costs of the violence. Unlike her discussion of the Sri Lankan war, however, Pratap's account of events in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India is focused on specific incidents and offers little historical context. As a result, the unfamiliar reader's understanding may be confined to Pratap's experiences. Yet she vividly portrays the human suffering in these troubled regions, raises important political and social questions and keeps the reader engaged through entertaining anecdotes as well as personal reflections. The result is a finely balanced memoir of Pratap's extraordinary personal and professional experiences and addresses the political and human dimensions of some of South Asia's gravest conflicts and tragedies.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The author, an Indian-born journalist, got her big break in 1983 when riots broke out in Sri Lanka between the Sinhalese and Tamil populations, and Pratap was assigned to cover the story. There, she interviewed V. Pirabhakaran, leader of the Tamil faction. Her journalistic relationship with Pirabhakaran, and her portrait of this military leader, forms the backbone of this book, which combines memoir, history, and reportage. In addition to describing her life as a reporter, Pratap also tells us about the places she visited--Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, primarily--and the people she met: military leaders, ordinary men and women, police. This is an exciting and inspiring account of a woman who seeks out the hot spots and puts her own life very much at risk to bring stories of oppression, prejudice, and hatred into the public consciousness. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the international news media. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142003662
• ISBN-13: 978-0142003664
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.6 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,980,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > History > Asia > Sri Lanka

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nobody corrected this woman's manuscript?, April 23, 2005

By 

Ahimsa Campos Arceiz (Tokyo) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Island of Blood (Paperback)

First I must say that I have read only the five chapters dedicated to Sri Lanka, which makes about half of the edition for this country (Viyitha Yapa Publications).

I was just about to give up the book after a few pages because of Anita Pratap's style: it is completely annoying for absolutely self-centered and narcissist. Luckily I realized that being so obviously disgusting a style it took not so much effort to ignore that part and focus only on the information about her experiences as journalist, in the same way that you get accustomed to the noise of cars in the street.

Anita Pratap has interviewed on several occasions to Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and has lived from close range the anti-Tamil incidents happened in Colombo in July 1983 and the situation in Jaffna during the late 80s. Her experiences are valid and provide interesting information to understand the evolution of the Singhalese-Tamil conflict.

The same as you remove the stylistic noise you must read it carefully since she is far from objective when it comes to Prabhakaran and the conflict. In my case, my previous information was strongly biased to the Singhalese side, and therefore I thanked the opposite view, though I absolutely don't agree with her fan-like attitude towards the guerrilla leader. She describes the fight for Tamil Eelam as a romantic fight for freedom and justice. Unfortunately reality is different, and although I don't know enough about the origins of the conflict, its costs for innocent Singhalese and Tamil citizens are unjustifiable. It seems to me more an excessive obsession of a visionary than the real wish of the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.

I recommend reading this book, in a critical mode and without great expectations. Unfortunately there are not as many books about this conflict and the Sri Lankan history of the 80s and 90s as there are for other conflicts.

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful reading for understanding Sri Lanka, but that's about it., July 2, 2010

By 

Ravi C. (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Island of Blood (Paperback)

Anita Pratap is a highly respected journalist in India, and this book details much of her experience covering the conflict in Sri Lanka, and also Afghanistan; she also covers Hindu-Muslim rioting in India, natural disasters, and in a more broad way, problems of women and children in South Asia. First, the positives - this is a very readable book, and has some of the best accounts of the Sri Lankan conflict that I've read so far (although short of critical analysis and historical perspective). She is an intrepid and incredibly brave journalist, and she goes to great lengths to get the story and in several cases, help her subjects. Now, the negatives: she tells us over and over again how lucky she is, what a charmed life she enjoys when she's not on the battlefield. Get over yourself, I wanted to say. It's a bit self-centered, when you compare it to the grimness of what she's reporting about. Needless to say, her transitions from her life to wars, etc are jarring. 'I was strolling along, smelling flowers. How unlike the smell of burning human flesh in Colombo." (This is a parody of her prose, but not far off.) Ugh. She repeats this kind of phrasing many times. I almost tossed the book aside in the first 50 or so pages, when she goes on and on about traveling with her son and being beset by leeches. Who cares? She makes up for it with the war reportage, though. My last quibble about that reportage was that she does almost no analysis, and seems to come to no conclusions. I find that a bit dishonest, given everything she's seen. Overall, an excellent read, particularly if you're interested in the Sri Lankan civil war, and you can overlook the author's self-centered prose, and often mangled constructions. One example (a quote): "Like her husband's corpse, bits and pieces of Rahima's hopes lay strewn all around her." Omigod, that is soooooooooo bad.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Frontline stories, full of detail, August 14, 2003

By 

[e-mail] (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Island of Blood (Paperback)

Ms. Pratap's intimate knowledge of the conflicts in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are instrumental in the success of Island of Blood. Filled with intimate details of the LTTE, Island of Blood provides a great deal of insight into the conflict battered nation of Sri Lanka. Whether or not you are familiar with the situation in Sri Lanka, Ms. Pratrap does a wonderful job of presenting an easy to read version of the story. I highly recommend this book because of the intimate details that aren't available anywhere else.