Mohan Raj Madawala is a contemporary Sri Lankan novelist known for his bold and provocative storytelling. His notable works include Lovina, Rajina, Magam Soliya, and Toxic, which often explore themes of love, social class, and human complexity. His writing is both praised for its originality and debated for its unconventional, boundary-pushing narratives.
I'm still wondering what type of book is this. I would say 'Though I knew this couldn't happen on earth, I was curios to know what happened next all the time while am in that village with 'Walli', Gomari and the rest. And the end, I was like.. hmm... It might happen.
This is a weird story in many aspects. But it feels like the general criticism of the book is mostly based only on the fact that the premise is a controversial topic that is inherently considered taboo in the civilized(?) (Sri Lankan) society. Once you get that out of the way, there is plenty more to dissect and ponder on, but at times it is the lack thereof all the same. Having read ලොවීනා, one of the later works of the same genre by the same author, my personal opinion is that මාගම් සෝලිය is mostly experimental. All the right ingredients are there; a legendary historical era of as the backdrop, complicated yet intriguing characters, a plethora of myths, folklore, rituals of exorcism, and social and religious practices of the bygone era, tossed into a very concentrated solution of magical realism.
However, the use of unconventional explicit sexual acts in the plot constantly ranges back and forth between deep symbolism and mere expletive, which is one of the main reasons why I consider this is the author testing the limits of his imagination. The language and narration could use a lot of improvement as well. The story is very rich and detailed, and although it is highly unlikely, if translated and reaches a wider audience, has the potential to be adapted to a visual medium, similar to Spartacus from Starz, albeit with significantly less action and more drama.
It is a interesting story to read but so many fantasies that we can’t believe. Structure of the story flows nicely. As story wise it flawlessly structured, at the end I am unable figure out a category for this book.
Magma Soliya is exciting read for Sinhala reader. Novel written in Sinhalese with eroticized backdrop and mystic fantasy believes on exorcism. The tagline is generally fair to call as “controversial” by looking at the content. Writer brave enough to explore the village woman and man perspective of sexuality and believes. Good read ….