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Only Man is Vile: The Tragedy of Sri Lanka
Book by William McGowan
- GenresHistoryWarNonfiction
397 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 15, 2011
Written in the style of travelogue, it details the loss of innocence in Sri Lanka during the civil war. The writer arrives in Sri Lanka with some pre-concieved notions about buddhist society, and this gets gradually eroded as he meets different people, visits different places and gets immersed into the madness of the civil war.
April 27, 2012
Great insight to the ethnic conflict of Sri Lanka. Yet, lack of author's respect to a certain culture made me love and hate the book at the same.
September 9, 2024
This is a phenomenal book, which is still worth reading, despite the fact that everything which is described therein occurred before 1990. In other words, the 2 decades of civil war which followed its publication, as well as the conclusion of that civil war and subsequent economic/political crisis, is absent from its pages.
That being said, there remains a wealth of historical information that will benefit anyone with even a passing interest in a fundamentally interesting, as well as tragic, nation. The title of this engrossing work of political history and social science is derived from a missionary hymn penned by the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta named Reginald Heber. And it is a very fitting title, considering the natural resources and abundance with which Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was graced by God, yet which have been squandered over the course of the 20th century.
Although every ethnic and religious group within this country has suffered immensely during the latter half of the 20th century and beyond, the plight of the Christians-responsible for much of the development and prosperity that Sri Lanka has enjoyed-is what stood out in stark relief as I read McGowan's account.
A small, oppressed, pacific group-relentlessly persecuted by Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists alike-with no large political faction protecting their collective interest, the Christians of Sri Lanka remind me of the admonition of Paul in Romans 8:36-quoting the Psalmist-"As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
The difficulties of the Tamil minority-located primarily in the Jaffna Peninsula-are also recounted, as well as the involvement of India as an ineffective mediating party to this internal conflict. The fact that both the Sinhalese and Tamil extremist factions both hailed from the Marxist vanguard is of note, as is the failed attempts at redressing the grievances of both the minority and majority through government edict.
Although the book is, naturally, very dated at this point, the lucidity of its prose and the comprehensiveness of its remit make it a worthwhile read, especially for anyone interested in the underlying causes of geopolitical problems.
That being said, there remains a wealth of historical information that will benefit anyone with even a passing interest in a fundamentally interesting, as well as tragic, nation. The title of this engrossing work of political history and social science is derived from a missionary hymn penned by the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta named Reginald Heber. And it is a very fitting title, considering the natural resources and abundance with which Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was graced by God, yet which have been squandered over the course of the 20th century.
Although every ethnic and religious group within this country has suffered immensely during the latter half of the 20th century and beyond, the plight of the Christians-responsible for much of the development and prosperity that Sri Lanka has enjoyed-is what stood out in stark relief as I read McGowan's account.
A small, oppressed, pacific group-relentlessly persecuted by Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists alike-with no large political faction protecting their collective interest, the Christians of Sri Lanka remind me of the admonition of Paul in Romans 8:36-quoting the Psalmist-"As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
The difficulties of the Tamil minority-located primarily in the Jaffna Peninsula-are also recounted, as well as the involvement of India as an ineffective mediating party to this internal conflict. The fact that both the Sinhalese and Tamil extremist factions both hailed from the Marxist vanguard is of note, as is the failed attempts at redressing the grievances of both the minority and majority through government edict.
Although the book is, naturally, very dated at this point, the lucidity of its prose and the comprehensiveness of its remit make it a worthwhile read, especially for anyone interested in the underlying causes of geopolitical problems.
March 10, 2019
A very good portrait of Sri Lanka from the viewpoint of an American Peace Corp who returned to Sri Lanka during the troubled times.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews