"Rich in the tales of Sri Lanka under colonial British
rule as well as coverage of the current civil war, Barker's memoir is an enlightening
and captivating read." —Kristine Huntle, Booklist
Contents
About the Book
Weaving together reporting, travelogue, and personal narrative, debut author
Adele Barker brings American readers with her to experience Sri Lanka, "the
resplendent island" that seems to hang like a teardrop from the tip of
India. Barker's account of the year and a half she spent living and teaching
there moves deftly from the daily, personal details of Sri Lankan life and culture
to reports on the war between the government and the Tamil Tigers, and the 2004
tsunami in which forty-eight thousand Sri Lankans died in the space of twenty
minutes.
Life on the island is complex for a Westerner, and Barker does not miss any
of the nuances: the beauty and the bugs; the peaceful, Buddhist pace of life;
and the explosive ravages of civil war. Barker acquaints us with the history
of the place, the literature, and the traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, missionary
Christianity, and ancient myths. Not Quite Paradise offers a comprehensive,
eye-opening account of the "pearl" of the Indian Ocean and a rare
perspective on the massive devastation of the tsunami of December 26, 2004.
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Praise
"Adele Barker offers this memorable gift: the story of strangers from
very different countries becoming cherished and enduring friends. Against the
background of a most beautiful country and through the tragedies that have marred
its recent history, her love of the land and for its people won a high place
in this reader's heart." —Mary Oliver, Pulitzer Prize–winning
poet
"Anyone going to Sri Lanka should consider Adele Barker's Not Quite Paradise
essential reading. Even travelers headed to other parts of the globe—or
those going no farther than their own living room—will find this story
of an American woman thoughtfully wending her way through the complexities of
another country's culture and history fascinating." —Kristin Ohlson,
author of Stalking the Divine and coauthor of Kabul Beauty School
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About the Author
Adele Barker, who was awarded a Ucross Fellowship for her work on this book,
has taught at the universities of Arizona and Washington. She is the author
and editor of five books on Russian literature and cultural life. Most recently,
she received a Fulbright Senior Scholar grant to teach and write in Sri Lanka.
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Questions for Discussion
Colonialism and Its Legacy; The Issue of Class
- Early on in her sojourn to Sri Lanka, Adele Barker expresses discomfort
about hiring a housekeeper because she does not want to be "British and
colonial" (p. 19). But for the applicant, the job is a lifeline. Do you
think Adele is right that it is better and more principled not to hire a Sri
Lankan housekeeper? Even if this might mean putting someone out of a job?
- Adele tells us of the engagement of a Sinhalese Buddhist, Atulya, and a
Hindu Tamil, Gopi, in which neither ethnicity nor religion is an issue for
the partners or their families and friends. One friend says, "I don't
know how all of this got started, this ethnic superiority mess" (p. 81).
How do you think it got started? What do you think perpetuates the ethnic
conflict? And how is it that some Sri Lankans seem immune to these prejudices?
- Adele Barker observes, "Sometimes on the island one will hear comments
about a certain group of people being lazier than others…If one wants
something done, one is better off hiring a Tamil" (p. 118). How does
that statement compare to racism toward ethnic groups here in the U.S.? Are
there differences between Sri Lankan and American prejudices, in terms of
content or explicitness?
Being an Outside and an Insider
- As she begins to settle into her new environs, Adele thinks of "the
ebb and flow of one's deeply rooted beliefs and practices [and] how over time
they slowly begin to merge with the belief system of the world in which one
happens to be living" (p. 65). Do you think it is true that a foreigner
can assimilate to another culture in this way, taking on its deeply rooted
beliefs? What would make assimilation easier? Do you think there would be
strong internal and external barriers?
- Jon asks Adele, "Is your life more real because you take a tuk-tuk?
Is it better because you live with ants?" And she replies, "In a
way, yes" (p. 95). Do you think Adele's refusal to take advantage of
the western luxuries afforded by her relative wealth gives her a more authentic
experience of Sri Lankan culture? What is an "authentic version"
of a culture? Is this a romanticized notion?
- Is Adele's concept of "Colonialist Torpor" (Chapter 9) valid?
What do you make of her foray into the British expat community, attending
the Saturday night social at the Citadel (pp. 115–116)? Is she being
fair to the other westerners sojourning with her?
The Civil War
- Consider Adele's conclusion that, "The U.S. government has shown little
interest in the war, partially because the island poses no security threat
to us and exports no products we rely on" (p. 83). Should the U.S. provide
military intervention in foreign conflicts when our national interests or
those of our close allies are not threatened? Was the U.S. wrong to stay out
of the Sri Lankan civil war? Are there other recent conflicts where the U.S.
should have acted differently (the Balkans, Rwanda, Iraq, Afghanistan)?
- When Adele speaks with a local Tamil in Jaffna, he defends the Tigers as
being "very strict" and the ones who actually keep the order (p.
247). And when she mentions Prabhakaran's kidnapping children for his army,
another man disagrees and blames the splinter group of Tigers run by a man
named Karuna for these abductions (p. 251). With such contradicting information
and the sensationalized media coverage on both sides, do you think it is possible
to get accurate information about the conflict? Would the government provide
accurate information, in your opinion?
- Adele realizes that the Civil War is not so black and white; many strongly
sympathize with the Tamil Tiger cause, yet they adamantly disagree with Prabhakaran's
tactics; most in the north are not in the LTTE, though they have deep connections
to the Tigers (p. 259). Yet outsiders, such as the U.S., have no reservations
about labeling the Tigers a terrorist group. Is it possible to view civil
war abroad in shades of gray rather than black and white? Does Adele's book
help you to see the shading? What do you think of the Tigers?
The Tsunami
- Adele Barker discovers that, "There was just no warning system in place
that could warn the Sri Lankan population that a tsunami was on the way"
(p. 201). Why do you think there was no proper, functioning warning system
in place in the Indian Ocean? Do you think the international community has
an obligation to provide developing countries with the proper warning systems
to prevent tragedies like the astronomical death toll of the tsunami? Or should
their own governments do so?
- Adele's friend Alan sends her a letter explaining that "three days
later foreign aid just hasn't turned up yet, even in the highly publicized
places like Galle. The only aid that has been getting through so far is through
locals" (p. 158). Were you surprised to learn how slowly and halfheartedly
foreign countries responded to the tsunami? And what about the Sri Lankan
government? Do you think the government is in any way justified in selecting
areas to rebuild based on economic factors, such as tourism, or is this fundamentally
unjust?
- Adele hears numerous stories about international aid organizations that
have been ineffective. An Austrian firm, for example, constructed a boat factory
in Unawatuna, where the people do not earn their living from fishing, but
from tourism (p. 186); foreign aid organizations continued to send fishermen
boats when they desperately needed nets and materials for building houses
were scarce (p. 171). Why do you think so many international organizations
failed to deliver appropriate aid? Do you think Jake is right that this failure
was the result of a "charity competition" (p. 185)?
Life, Travel, and Culture
- Adele encountered quite a few obstacles teaching in Sri Lanka. Besides the
violence surrounding elections that kept students at home, she had to schedule
class around poya and numerous other Sri Lankan holidays (p. 14). In Jaffna,
Adele cannot obtain even one copy of Crime and Punishment, and is forced to
teach Dostoyevsky without the text (p. 264). Could you imagine teaching a
text without the book? Do you think it was successful?
- Adele observes that, no matter how long she has lived in Sri Lanka, "My
habits, how I ate my food, my skin and its freckles, everything about me"
still held its fascination to everyone else, including Champika's fiancé
(p. 289). She also says that, "Relationships…were given form centuries
before I ever set foot here. Differences had been deeply etched since the
first Europeans" (p. 290). Do you agree with Adele's conclusion that
she was just as much an outsider to Sri Lankan culture at the end of her sojourn
as she was at the beginning? Would that always be true, or can one fully assimilate
to another culture?
- What do you think of the Sri Lankans' relationship with the natural world?
Do you think there is something valuable about their acceptance of nature—their
cohabitation with monkeys, vines, and elephants, for example—that we
in the U.S. lack?
Marriage, Family, Work
- What do you think of the Sri Lankan emphasis on marriage and family? The
first day Adele goes to class at the university at Peradeniya, she anticipates
being asked if she is married, to which she answers, "No…it's just
me and my son" (p. 13). How does the primacy on relationships in Sri
Lankan culture compare to the value placed on personal relationships in American
culture?
- When discussing Dostoyevsky with her students in Jaffna, Adele observes
that the idea of isolation is alien to them because "people live in groups
here or they live in extended families" (p. 268). And yet, Sri Lanka
has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Do you think the idea of
isolation is truly unknown in Sri Lankan culture? Is it possible that some
cultures may simply have no concept of isolation?
- In Sri Lanka, Buddhists take up arms in the war, which Adele remarks counters
"the Buddhism I think I know from the peace movements in the United States
in the 1960s and 1970s" (p. 54). How do you think practicing Buddhists
justify using violence to achieve their ends? Is their use of violence hypocritical,
or a "necessary evil" in a war-torn country?
- Through the poetry of Emily Dickinson, someone "who never knew war,
never had her house bombed, and never, ever moved," Adele is able to
connect with her students in Jaffna. She calls it "one of the finer mysteries
of literature" (p. 277) that it can connect people from vastly different
walks of life. Do you think this is a true statement? Why or why not?
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For More Information
Author Recommended Web Sites (author comments in
parenthesis)
Culture
Ethnic Groups of Sri Lanka
- www.tamilnet.com (This is a pro-Tamil
and pro-Tiger site. This site gives good coverage of the Tamil side of the
ethnic conflict, even after the military part of the war has come to an end)
- www.priu.gov.lk (This is the official
website of the government. A good counterbalance to tamilnet.com)
About the Civil War
On the End of and Life After the War
Current Warning System Efforts Today
News Stories a Few Years After the War
News Stories/ News Sites on Sri Lanka Today
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Other Links
Culture
Ethnic Groups of Sri Lanka
Colonialism in Sri Lanka
The Civil War
Articles on the End of and Life After the War
Tsunami
Images and Photos
Current Warning System Efforts Today
New Stories: A few years after the tsunami
News Stories: Today
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Author Suggestions for Further Reading
Doniger, Wendy. The Hindus: An Alternative History. New York: Penguin,
2009.
Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1996.
Gunesekera, Romesh. Heaven's Edge. New York: Grove Press, 2004.
______The Match. New York: New Press, 2008
______Monkfish Moon. New Delhi: Penguin India, 1992.
______Reef. London: Granta, 1994.
Halpe, Ashley, Em.E. Nukaman and Ranjini Obeyesekere, eds. A Lankan Mosaic.
Colombo: Three Wheeler Press, 2002.
Lopez, Donald S. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to its History and
Teachings. San Francisco: Harper, 2001.
Ondaatje, Michael. Anil's Ghost. New York: Vintage, 2001.
______Running in the Family. New York: Vintage, 1993
Rahula, Walpola Sri. What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove Press,
1974.
Selvaduri, Shyam. Cinnamon Gardens. London: Anchor, 1999.
Sivanandan, A. When Memory Dies. London: Arcadia Books, 1997.
Subramanian, Nirupama. Sri Lanka: Voices from a War Zone. New Delhi:
Viking Penguin, 2005.
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