Not Quite Paradise: An American Sojourn in Sri Lanka

Description

A captivating memoir of the year and a half Adele Barker spent living and teaching in Sri Lanka, rich in cultural, political, and historical detail. Combining personal narrative, reportage, and travelogue, this book provides an in-depth look at the "resplendent isle" that hangs like a tear drop from the southern tip of India. Devastated by a thirty-year war between the government and the famous Tamil Tigers, and the 2004 tsunami, the Sri Lanka captured by Not Quite Paradise is a beautiful and deeply troubled place.

Adele Barker, who was awarded a Ucross Fellowship for her work on this book, is the author or editor of five books on Russian literature and cultural life. Most recently, she received a Fulbright Senior Scholar grant to teach and write in Sri Lanka.

"Rich in the tales of Sri Lanka under colonial British rule as well as coverage of the current civil war, Barker's memoir is an enlightening and captivating read."-Kristine Huntley, Booklist "Anyone going to Sri Lanka should consider Adele Barker's Not Quite Paradise essential reading. Even travelers headed to other parts of the globe-or those going no farther than their own living room-will find this story of an American woman thoughtfully wending her way through the complexities of another country's culture and history fascinating."-Kristin Ohlson, author of Stalking the Divine and coauthor of Kabul Beauty School "Adele Barker offers this memorable gift: the story of strangers from very different countries becoming cherished and enduring friends. Against the background of a most beautiful country and through the tragedies that have marred its recent history, her love of the land and for its people won a high place in this reader's heart."-Mary Oliver, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet