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A Passage North

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A Passage North

By: Anuk Arudpragasam
Narrated by: Neil Shah
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About this listen

It begins with a message: a telephone call informing Krishan that his grandmother's former care-giver, Rani, has died in unexpected circumstances, at the bottom of a well in her village in the north, her neck broken by the fall. The news arrives on the heels of an email from Anjum, an activist he fell in love with four years earlier while living in Delhi, bringing with it the stirring of distant memories and desires. As Krishan makes the long journey by train from Colombo into the war-torn Northern Province for the funeral, so begins a passage into the soul of an island devastated by violence.

Written with precision and grace, A Passage North is a poignant memorial for the missing and the dead, and a luminous meditation on time, consciousness and the lasting imprint of the connections we make with others.

©2021 Anuk Arudpragasam (P)2021 W F Howes Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature

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Critic reviews

“Mesmerizing, political, intimate, unafraid - this is a superb novel.” (Sunjeev Sahota, author of the Booker shortlisted The Year of the Runaways)
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Too overly explained for my taste, and too much unecessary detail and inner thought narration.

Not for me

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One of my best Audible experiences. Brilliantly composed novel and a great reading. Many great books are let down by poor narration but this is very accomplished.

Powerful. And beautifully read

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Lots of rumination and philosophical meandering but very interesting about the Tamil Tigers and horrors of recent Sri Lankan history

Slow thoughtful read

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The lack of dialogue and often over description. Felt like a read of incessant info dumping.
The narration is ok, as is the story. But I had to listen at 1.5 speed In the end, just to finish it.

Couldn’t help feeling like I was in an info dump loop

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Loved this. The narrator has the most beautiful voice and way of narrating and the writing is exquisite.

Extraordinary & Beautiful

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There is a story: you can find it in the summary but it’s there to carry a variety of balanced’ sensitive and mature reflections, everywhere beautifully written and worthy of its consideration for the Booker.
As an audiobook it works a treat.

Thoughtful, balanced and mature.

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A beautiful meditation on love, life and family and the irreversible damage that war inflicts on people. The narration is perfect for the story: slow, calm, thoughtful. A worthy inclusion on the Booker shortlist. Would definitely read other works by the author.

The damage of war

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Meditative novel. Lovely style, well presented by actor. Wanted more. I think it could have been edited better, but a lovely novel nonetheless.

Great prose, well performed

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I appreciate that this is a polarising novel, one that most readers either completely hate or really love. Despite not having lots of luck enjoying many of the Booker shortlisted novels, I did enjoy this one. That might have been because as an audiobook listen, you don't see how it is presented on the page, the long sentences and paragraphs, the unmarked dialogue. It is set over two days in which nothing of dramatic importance really happens and is entirely an internal dialogue/remembrances of one character. However, because the thoughts traverse years of history and geography and are shaped by philosophical introspection as the narrator mulls over his own existence and the fallibility and impermanence of all of our lives, it made for an interesting read. It is set in Sri Lanka, whose recent history I only had a passing understanding of, and so that also made the novel interesting. The author can paint evocative descriptions of place, although without a clear appreciation of Sri Lanka's geographical situation, I wasn't clear about all the references to north and south. I would recommend the book, but with a caveat that it's not a high tension dramatic read and the resolution (as such) is a philosophical one, rather than a wrapping up of loose ends.

More a journey through life than physical terrain

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This is so tenderly written that when the pain comes, it is doubly shocking. Poor Sri Lanka. Yet, as with all great writing, there is a thread of hope, not despair woven through the narrative.
Beautifully told by Neil Shah.

The Soul of Sri Lanka

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