The Sweet and Simple Kind

by Yasmine Gooneratne

Resonant in its social insights and beautifully written, Yasmine Gooneratne creates a richly imagined world of love, political chicanery and family turmoil in the newly independent Sri Lanka of the 1950s and 60s. As a highly political family attempts to balance language with religion, and privilege with equity, two smart, sassy young women pursue their personal freedoms. The Sweet & Simple Kind enchants us with its combination of authenticity, humour and passion, and haunts us with reminders of what we were and what we might have been.

(From Publisher)

Yasmine Gooneratne was born in Colombo and educated in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Australia. Acclaimed as a critic and as an editor she has earned an international reputation as a pioneer in the field of Commonwealth Literature written in English. She has won many awards and prizes including being shortlisted for the Commonwealth Fiction Prize. She currently holds Emeritus Professorship at Macquarie University, NSW and divides her time between Australia and Sri Lanka.