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Sam’s Story
The writer seems to have a deep insight into the pain and agony of the victims. The protagonist, Sam, empathises with the poor that fought the war and got killed while the rich simply watched it on TV from their drawing rooms. The author displays a rare understanding of the human psyche when he describes the feeling of hatred and enmity generated by war among the warring groups. The protagonist himself highlights this by saying, "You always hated the other kinds like Leandro hating me, and me hating Velu ." The irony of the situation is that the poor, simple folk hardly knew anything about why the war was being fought. The writer presents a very poignant picture of poverty, and the afflictions and woes attached to it touch the innermost chords of our very being. One is moved to know that Sam hardly remembered a day when someone laughed in his family. They had only a smile", that too not very often. Bare survival of the family is brought forth exquisitely. While the havoc caused by war remains the underlying theme, the novelist takes a fine dig at the so-called democracy. Even the dim-witted and illiterate Sam understands too well that the election "was the one time poor were important we got nothing only promises that vanished like the moonbeams `85 we stay the same dirt poor, discarded and hopeless". These words uttered by the protagonist ring in our ears long after we have laid down the collection and remind us of similar state of affairs in our country. The writer rightly exposes the sham of the actual working of democracy in developing countries. The author has the knack of getting into the skin of his characters and makes them come alive before the readers. Sam’s innate simplicity endears him to everyone. He could never figure out what a problem was and maybe that is why he felt that he never had a problem. The protagonist has a wry sense of humour which is evident in the lines "my mother was too clever ... she knew when to produce boys and when to produce girls, but didn’t know when to stop." His comment about Kade Mudalah’s shop is a fine example of subtle satire. "It was a poor people’s shop. Only the shop owner was rich." Simple, short yet sentences like "you come back and you go back. You go back and you come back" keeps us glued to the book. With picturesque description of the riverside and cinematic appeal on the whole, the author captivates you with Sam’s Story. Interweaving of the story with the past and present is a masterstroke of the pen. Jayawardena puts forth the horrifying times his country went through deftly before the world. The book makes an excellent read. Indeed, it stands as a classic by itself.
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JaYAWARDENA
’s Sam’s Story is a sensitive and absorbing portrayal of the
war-torn Sri Lanka. It is a very honest and down-to-earth account of the
havoc the small island has gone through. Simple yet gripping description
provides a very sad and grim picture of those affected by the war.