This book was hard for me to read. But through every tear and sigh of despair, it was worth it. The novel is broken up into two parts. The first part is a fairytale telling of life on Sri Lanka - marriages, births, young love, all set against a backdrop of a lush island paradise. As the reader gets closer to the second part of the story, the writing gets more tense as the island is on the brink of civil war. Part two, the novel takes a turn as we see the horror that is war. Munaweera doesn't coat war - between death, rape, children joining the war, and everything between, she tells all. And I admire her for this. It's never easy to read about the terrible things that people do and that are done to them, but it's the reality of life and it happens and she makes sure that her readers know, and it's devastating. But let me make one thing very clear: This author is a beautiful writer. Even when she is describing the most horrific of events, she finds the perfect way to write about it. I absolutely loved this book and I cannot wait to see future Munaweera creations.