{"product_id":"noontide-toll-9781620970201","title":"Noontide Toll","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn postwar Sri Lanka, a hired driver observes his passengers--tourists, soldiers, businessmen, and others--in these linked stories by a \"master storyteller\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Vasantha retired early, bought himself a van, and now works as a driver for hire. As he drives through Sri Lanka, carrying aid workers, entrepreneurs, and visiting families; meeting lonely soldiers and eager hoteliers, he engages them with self-deprecating wit and folksy wisdom--while revealing to us their uncertain lives with piercing insight. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e On his journey from the army camps in northern Jaffna to the moonlit ramparts of Galle, in the south, Vasantha slowly discovers the depth of his country's troubles--as well as his own--while catching a glimmer of the promise the future might hold. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of \u003ci\u003eReef\u003c\/i\u003e comes a collection of \"gracefully crafted road stories\" that draws a potent portrait of postwar Sri Lanka and the ghosts of civil war (\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Romesh Gunesekera\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"\u003ci\u003eMonkfish Moon\u003c\/i\u003e strikes the reader like a hammer blow. . . . Gunesekera's subtly erotic prose animates Sri Lanka's natural luxuriance, veined with menace.\" --\u003ci\u003eVoice Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRomesh Gunesekera is the author of eight highly acclaimed works, including \"Reef,\" which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and \"The Guardian\" Fiction Prize; \"The Sandglass,\" winner of the BBC Asia Award; \"The Match\"; and a collection of stories, \"Monkfish Moon\" (all available from The New Press). He lives in London.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"New Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51890465636626,"sku":"9781620970201","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_dc2cbd38-7092-47c0-8fcf-6648acd55b9c.jpg?v=1768305858","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/noontide-toll-9781620970201","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}