I think for the first time I'm giving a 5 star rating for an anthology. This is my new favorite K G Karunathilaka short story book. Can't remember reading this sort of an amazing collection of stories in one book. I think, K G's 'Bim Gei Sirakaruwa' was my previous no 1. There are 15 short stories in this anthology, by 15 different European authors of the 19th century.
This book has won the national books award for the translation of the year in 1971. Once again, Karunathilaka's language was the X factor. It was so hypnotic and I simply couldn't put the book away.
I'm yet to find a writer who can use Sinhala like K G Kaurnathilaka. He's the finest writer Sri Lanka has ever produced, that's for sure.