The Sandglass Author:Romesh Gunesekera Already hailed as one of six books to watch in 1998 (Independent, London), The Sandglass is the striking new novel by Sri Lankan author Romesh Gunesekera, a 1994 Booker Prize finalist for his first novel, Reef. Set in London where the Sri Lankan narrator lives, The Sandglass tells the story of two feuding families whose lives are interlinked by ... more »the changing fortunes of postcolonial Sri Lanka. In a beautifully constructed work that moves back and forth between two physical and temporal locales, Gunesekera brings to life Prins Ducal and his search for answers about his family's past in Sri Lanka, including his father's rise to wealth, rivalry with the Vatunas family, and a suspicious death -- a mystery that further unfolds upon Prins's arrival in London for his mother's funeral. Weaving together themes of memory, exile, and postcolonial upheaval, Gunesekera has written a book Marie Claire calls "utterly engaging.... A heady mix of 1990s London and postwar Sri Lanka."« less