Colombo: A Novel'Colombo is in the throes of an explosion. Its face changes continuously, its vices are legion, its future as yet obscure and its paths speak of sunlight as well as of shadow...' Carl Muller begins his quasi-fictional portrait of this beautiful, war-torn city by describing the great battles fought over it by European colonizers...In AD 1505, a Portuguese fleet blown off-course took shelter in Galle, overthrew the local kings, fortified Colombo and decided to stay. The Dutch came along, ousted the Portuguese, made Colombo their capital and ruled till the British arrived and sent them packing. Muller intersperses the tales of the past into descriptions of the battles that are being fought in Colombo today--political battles in which vested interests play a major role as well as battles fought on the individual level in the struggle to survive: young women and children turning to prostitution to earn an extra buck, people begging in the streets to make ends meet, unemployed young men turning to crime in frustration, students demonstrating against atrocities, lovers pining for nightfall in order to push away loneliness if only for a few moments...Written in Muller's lucid style, Colomb |
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Page 362
Whatever their political leanings, they would not wish to lose a goose that gave
them so many golden eggs. What was more, with the dispatch of the letter and
proclamation, the British had already taken Trincomalee and this, to Angelbeck
was ...
Whatever their political leanings, they would not wish to lose a goose that gave
them so many golden eggs. What was more, with the dispatch of the letter and
proclamation, the British had already taken Trincomalee and this, to Angelbeck
was ...
Page 366
The Dutch protested. They had thought they could do a horse trade with the
British. Some show of umbrage had to be made: To the Officers Commanding the
British Naval and Military at Trincomalee. Sirs — Having received the news that
you ...
The Dutch protested. They had thought they could do a horse trade with the
British. Some show of umbrage had to be made: To the Officers Commanding the
British Naval and Military at Trincomalee. Sirs — Having received the news that
you ...
Page 383
... that should they hold the Fort and successfully resist the British, there was the
possibility of seeking the help of the king of Kandy to not only drive the enemy
back but also, at a later date, regain the forts of Trincomalee and other posts.
Thus ...
... that should they hold the Fort and successfully resist the British, there was the
possibility of seeking the help of the king of Kandy to not only drive the enemy
back but also, at a later date, regain the forts of Trincomalee and other posts.
Thus ...
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Contents
The Leafy Mango Tree | 14 |
Harbour Lights | 30 |
Only by Night | 51 |
Copyright | |
15 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
Angelbeck arms asked bastion blood boat British Buddha Buddhist building called canal Captain carried Ceylon child Church cinnamon coconut Colombo Company dark door dragged Dutch East elephants eyes father fire fish Galle Face Galle Face Green Galle Face Hotel garden Gate girls give Governor Grand Pass guns hands harbour head Hotel Hulft hundred India Jaya Kandy kill king knew Kochchikade Kollupitiya Kotte lake land Legrevisse light live London looked Malays Maradana military Minister mother moved Mutwal night officers Pettah police political port Portuguese Raja Sinha ramparts river road Royal Asiatic Society rupees scream ships Sinhala Sinhalese Slave Island Sri Lanka stands stood Street Tamil tell temples thousand told trade tree Trincomalee troops turned Vesak vessels W.H. Auden wait walk walls watch Wellawatte wife woman
Bibliographic information
| Title | Colombo: A Novel Penguin books |
| Author | Carl Muller |
| Publisher | Penguin Books, 1995 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 11 Mar 2008 |
| ISBN | 0140255621, 9780140255621 |
| Length | 481 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |