Relative Merits: A Personal Memoir of the Bandarabaike Family of Sri Lanka [Hardcover]

Yasmine Gooneratne (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312670370 | ISBN-13: 978-0312670375 | Publication Date: August 1986

"This fascinating memoir by a member of one of Sri Lanka's ruling families . . . recounts the story of a 'Golden Age of innocence' . . . Here, too, are poignant stories of courtships, family feuds and fading fortunes."--New York Times Book Review. "Gooneratne's charming narrative recounts the intertwined lives of an aristocratic Sinhalese family for three generations amidst its mix of ancient and modern social practices."--Library Journal.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Amusing and pleasing well describe this gentle memoir of the Bandaranaike family of 20th-century Sri Lanka. Gooneratne's charming narrative recounts the intertwined lives of an aristocratic Sinhalese family for three generations amidst its mix of ancient and modern social practices. Despite a slightly choppy chronolgy, the sharply etched figures of Grandpa Felix, Uncle Bunny, and mother clearly emerge as highly human figures within a milieu that is foreign to the American reader. Gooneratne records with some nostalgia the eventual dispersal of the Bandaranaikes in the face of democratic politics, foreign education, and world-wide travel. John F. Riddick, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mt. Pleasant
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (August 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312670370
• ISBN-13: 978-0312670375
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,503,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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