The Story of a Brief Marriage: A Novel

Set during the final stages of Sri Lanka's civil war, this novel follows Dinesh, a Tamil evacuee living in a makeshift camp near the coast. Alienated and numb to the violence surrounding him, Dinesh is approached by an old man with an unusual proposal: to marry his daughter, Ganga. In this context, marriage offers a form of protection—a couple is less likely to be conscripted by rebels or abused if the army prevails. Thrust into sudden intimacy and dependence, Dinesh and Ganga attempt to process their experiences and connect with each other, even as the war threatens to engulf them again. Taking place over a single day and night, the novel examines marriage and war, life and death, treating its characters with dignity. The work was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize.