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Sacred Tears
1982 and Sami is far from home, trapped in war-torn Beirut, a city under siege by the Israelis. All he wants is to go home to his family in Sri Lanka but in order to stay alive he must learn to kill. David, a captain in the Sri Lankan army, is sent to the steamy jungles in the north of the country as punishment for an indiscretion and is thrown into the brutal insurrection by militant separatist Tamil Tigers. As civil war erupts in Sri Lanka and tears this once peaceful nation apart, David's love, the beautiful Priyani makes a difficult choice and the paths of these two men cross on opposing sides of the struggle. They must plumb the depths of their courage and question their beliefs about right and wrong. Sacred Tears, the first in a trilogy, is a powerful and evocative depiction of Sri Lanka's great beauty and recent tumultuous history. It will take you inside the story of this ancient nation and into the heart of a gripping human struggle.
368 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 2013
2 people are currently reading
744 people want to read
About the author
Roderic Grigson
8 books3 followersRoderic Grigson was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and lived there until he was twenty-one. Rod’s family were Burghers, descendants of the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonials who ruled the island nation for 450 years. His Scottish grandfather worked for the British before independence and was responsible for managing all Government-owned guest houses in the country.
Rod felt he had no prospects in a country which had become a socialist state run by Sinhalese Nationalists. With the help of a distant cousin, he left Sri Lanka and with ten dollars in his pocket entered the United States on a tourist visa. In New York he obtained a short term job at the United Nations Headquarters, processing documents on the night shift for the Annual General Assembly Conference. Later, with his visa about to expire, was offered a permanent job in the UN Department of Conference Services, where he worked for the next twelve years.
After studying at New York University he joined the UN Technological Innovations team developing French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese language programs on computers and implementing office information systems in UN offices around the world. For a two-year period in the late 1970s he volunteered to join the UN Peacekeeping Forces serving on the Suez Canal during the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty and in South Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.
Soon after returning to New York from the Middle East, Rod met and married a Tamil girl from Jaffna who worked for the UN Conference on Trade and Development. In the late 1980s Rod and Menaka left their jobs at the UN in New York to migrate to Australia. The year they arrived in Melbourne, they bought a home in a leafy south-eastern suburb of Melbourne where their son Eric was born and where they still live.
Rod felt he had no prospects in a country which had become a socialist state run by Sinhalese Nationalists. With the help of a distant cousin, he left Sri Lanka and with ten dollars in his pocket entered the United States on a tourist visa. In New York he obtained a short term job at the United Nations Headquarters, processing documents on the night shift for the Annual General Assembly Conference. Later, with his visa about to expire, was offered a permanent job in the UN Department of Conference Services, where he worked for the next twelve years.
After studying at New York University he joined the UN Technological Innovations team developing French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese language programs on computers and implementing office information systems in UN offices around the world. For a two-year period in the late 1970s he volunteered to join the UN Peacekeeping Forces serving on the Suez Canal during the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty and in South Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.
Soon after returning to New York from the Middle East, Rod met and married a Tamil girl from Jaffna who worked for the UN Conference on Trade and Development. In the late 1980s Rod and Menaka left their jobs at the UN in New York to migrate to Australia. The year they arrived in Melbourne, they bought a home in a leafy south-eastern suburb of Melbourne where their son Eric was born and where they still live.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 30, 2016
Original review found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/
I received a copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Upon initially starting the book I did not know what to think. I know very little about Lebanon and Sri Lanka and their struggles and this is what the book centralizes around. I found it difficult to keep track of the individual groups and causes. I also struggled with the multiple combat scenes.
But.........
Good things come to those who wait. As I progressed through the story I found that it was less about the conflicts and combats and more about the circumstances that cause people to travel down the paths they take. I liked the fact that Grigson did not focus on whose cause was right or wrong or force the reader to choose a side. He focused on the personal story of Sami and David and how sometimes their choices are not their own. Although Sami and David were on opposing sides they were both extremely likeable characters. I was drawn in to the story and my initial doubts were soon forgotten.
This also gave me an opportunity to learn more about a region that I am not well educated on. Although the story is fictional it still created a backdrop on which to learn. I am glad I had the opportunity to read this story and knowing that it is a trilogy I look forward to the next installment
I received a copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Upon initially starting the book I did not know what to think. I know very little about Lebanon and Sri Lanka and their struggles and this is what the book centralizes around. I found it difficult to keep track of the individual groups and causes. I also struggled with the multiple combat scenes.
But.........
Good things come to those who wait. As I progressed through the story I found that it was less about the conflicts and combats and more about the circumstances that cause people to travel down the paths they take. I liked the fact that Grigson did not focus on whose cause was right or wrong or force the reader to choose a side. He focused on the personal story of Sami and David and how sometimes their choices are not their own. Although Sami and David were on opposing sides they were both extremely likeable characters. I was drawn in to the story and my initial doubts were soon forgotten.
This also gave me an opportunity to learn more about a region that I am not well educated on. Although the story is fictional it still created a backdrop on which to learn. I am glad I had the opportunity to read this story and knowing that it is a trilogy I look forward to the next installment
April 18, 2014
Rod Grigson's first book makes for a riveting read - and will leave the reader eagerly anticipating the next book in this trilogy.
I like his style, and his technique of using alternate chapters to narrate the story of Sami and David, two very likeable young men who get caught up in a war, end up on opposing sides through no choice of their own - and have to kill simply in order not to be killed.
As former American president Herbert Hoover observed "Older men declare war - but it is the youth that must fight and die."
I cannot speak for the parts of the story set in Lebanon, but having myself lived in Sri Lanka and served as a military medical officer in the Sri Lanka army, I found his descriptions of events in the country so authentic.
A gripping work of fiction - but one that could also be described as Fiction that could well have been Fact.
Highly recommended.
I like his style, and his technique of using alternate chapters to narrate the story of Sami and David, two very likeable young men who get caught up in a war, end up on opposing sides through no choice of their own - and have to kill simply in order not to be killed.
As former American president Herbert Hoover observed "Older men declare war - but it is the youth that must fight and die."
I cannot speak for the parts of the story set in Lebanon, but having myself lived in Sri Lanka and served as a military medical officer in the Sri Lanka army, I found his descriptions of events in the country so authentic.
A gripping work of fiction - but one that could also be described as Fiction that could well have been Fact.
Highly recommended.
August 18, 2014
Such a moving story, I could not help but to fall in love with "Sacred Tears".
Life and where it may lead . . . obstacles, courage, strength and so much more are woven into the pages with such creativity, the story literally became alive in my mind ! ! !
I so enjoyed reading about Sami's unexpected friendship, his inner and outer struggles, triumphs and joys . . . which I believe ran parallel to the "life" of Sri Lanke. Much history between the pages about the struggles this country has experienced and is still going through to this day - saddening how we "humans" cause such harm and pain.
Laughing and crying became a part of my evenings as I took my time relishing Sacred Tears.
I am highly anticipating Roderic Grigson's next book in this trilogy. :)
Disclosure: I received this book for free through Goodreads FirstReads giveaway.
Life and where it may lead . . . obstacles, courage, strength and so much more are woven into the pages with such creativity, the story literally became alive in my mind ! ! !
I so enjoyed reading about Sami's unexpected friendship, his inner and outer struggles, triumphs and joys . . . which I believe ran parallel to the "life" of Sri Lanke. Much history between the pages about the struggles this country has experienced and is still going through to this day - saddening how we "humans" cause such harm and pain.
Laughing and crying became a part of my evenings as I took my time relishing Sacred Tears.
I am highly anticipating Roderic Grigson's next book in this trilogy. :)
Disclosure: I received this book for free through Goodreads FirstReads giveaway.
June 9, 2020
I really enjoyed learning about Sri Lanka and the alternating chapters about Sami and David worked really well to give insight into the opposing sides of the conflict as well as the characters of the two men. The detailed descriptions of Lebanon and Sri Lanka made me feel like I was there with them.
Looking forward to starting the sequel - The Sullen Hills
Looking forward to starting the sequel - The Sullen Hills
November 3, 2016
I won this book quite a while ago but unfortunately became busy with school, internships, and all those other stresses of everyday life so it has taken me this long to complete reading it.
This book follows the lives of David and Sami who are on opposing sides during the Sri Lankan war in the 1980s. In an unseen choice made by Priyani, these two men's paths cross and are found working together to save lives.
I did not have much knowledge about the civil war that took place in Sri Lanka so reading this story really made me interested. I believe there was the perfect mixture of the beauty of romance with the gory violence of war. As I read more and more, I could not get myself to put the book down.
The only thing I had an issue with was some of the language used. Because I have no idea about some of the vocabulary used in Sri Lanka, when these words showed up I got kind of lost. The author provides a dictionary in the back of the book but continuously flipping back and forth made me feel less connected and I often found myself losing my place.
Besides this little issue, I absolutely loved this book and will most likely continue on to read the next couple of books!
This book follows the lives of David and Sami who are on opposing sides during the Sri Lankan war in the 1980s. In an unseen choice made by Priyani, these two men's paths cross and are found working together to save lives.
I did not have much knowledge about the civil war that took place in Sri Lanka so reading this story really made me interested. I believe there was the perfect mixture of the beauty of romance with the gory violence of war. As I read more and more, I could not get myself to put the book down.
The only thing I had an issue with was some of the language used. Because I have no idea about some of the vocabulary used in Sri Lanka, when these words showed up I got kind of lost. The author provides a dictionary in the back of the book but continuously flipping back and forth made me feel less connected and I often found myself losing my place.
Besides this little issue, I absolutely loved this book and will most likely continue on to read the next couple of books!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews