Novels Now

Mosquito
Roma Tearne
299 pages

Life in this paradise, he felt, was exactly as the beautiful mosquito that lived here, composed in equal parts of loveliness and deadliness. (p. 284)

Theo Samarajeeva is a successful Sri Lankan writer, who returned from London to his homeland after his wife’s sudden death. He spends long, languorous days in his beach house, grieving, with only his servant Sugi as company. He is frequently visited by Nulani Mendis, a 17-year-old girl whose father was killed in a terrorist incident. Nulani is largely neglected by her mother, who is focused on her son’s path to success through a British university scholarship. Nulani is a highly talented painter. The friendship between Nulani and Theo blossoms and, while he writes, she creates sketches, mostly of Theo. Eventually she paints his portrait. Theo, ostensibly acting as a mentor, takes Nulani to the city of Colombo to meet his artist friend Rohan, and Rohan’s Italian wife Giulia. It’s obvious to everyone but Theo that, despite their 28-year age difference, his relationship with Nulani has become more than just friendship.

However, Sri Lanka is also in the midst of civil war. Just as Theo and Nulani acknowledge their feelings for one another, violence explodes with dramatic impact on all of the characters. At this point Tearne shifts tone and pace, yanking the reader away from lazy seaside days into the suspenseful drama of terrorism, suicide bombings, and torture. Each character’s story unfolds independently, at times heartbreaking and, at others, inspiring. I felt great sadness for the people of Sri Lanka and other countries affected by long-term civil war. But I also felt inspired by the hope and redemption in this beautifully-written debut novel.

Then, staring at the undulating phosphorescent water, he understood at last that freedom was a doubled-edged thing, which, like innocence lost, was unrecoverable. (p. 253)

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