Bone China
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'Told with intelligence and grace, "Bone China" is a compassionate take of an anguished spirit with an irrepressible quest for assimilation. Perhaps this single, slender volume of expression will get the author the acceptance she deserves.' Christopher Ondaatje, Sunday Telegraph
'One of those rich, nourishing family sagas that seizes the imagination … Tearne carries her story triumphantly into the present.' The Times
'Tearne's evocative descriptions of landscapes, cities, wildlife and weather carry the novel through its geographical shifts.' TLS
‘Tearne's second novel also deftly reveals the corrosive effects of civil strife on private lives and the redemptiveness of art. Probing loss and memory amid violence and displacement, her novels have affinities with Romesh Gunesekera's groundbreaking fiction.’ Guardian
Guardian
'Probing loss and memory amid violence and displacement, her novels have affinities with Romesh Gunesekera's groundbreaking fiction.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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From 1939, when the first world war affects a Ceylon still under British Crown Rule, through the country's struggling independence, its resulting race wars and mass emigration to an England believed to offer a safer, better way of life; "Bone China" is a sweeping saga detailing the struggle of the once affluent de Silva family.
Grace de Silva, the beautiful matriarch of the family watches her family splinter apart as she faces her own personal heartbreaks. Her husband Aloysius is an alcoholic seemingly intent on squandering away her family inheritance; whilst her children struggle to adapt to the changes in their own lives. Eldest daughter and talented pianist Alicia is on the brink of dominating the musical world until her beloved husband Sunil is shot. While she is overcome by her grief, her brothers, Jacob, Christopher and Thornton one by one leave the escalating troubles of Ceylon for lives in England, yet their futures are not what they anticipate. Left behind, it is their quiet sister Frieda who chooses to remain and keep their heritage alive.
In England, the utterly handsome Thornton remains besotted by his equally stunning daughter Anna-Meeka; yet as memories of Ceylon fade, Meeka wants to be like all the children she mixes with and begins to resent her family's differences. This head strong young girl is soon a stranger to her parents; especially her father who wants her to set aside her love of music and study hard to become a doctor. Meeka though has no intention of following the grand dreams her father has for her.
This is a beautiful story, beautifully written by author Roma Tearne and certainly an epic story that sweeps through the lives of four generations of the de Silva family as the majority come to grips with a new country and a vastly different culture. "Bone China" is not something that I would normally look for or even purchase; however I am so pleased that the Vine programme has expanded my horizons.
Grace de Silva, the beautiful matriarch of the family watches her family splinter apart as she faces her own personal heartbreaks. Her husband Aloysius is an alcoholic seemingly intent on squandering away her family inheritance; whilst her children struggle to adapt to the changes in their own lives. Eldest daughter and talented pianist Alicia is on the brink of dominating the musical world until her beloved husband Sunil is shot. While she is overcome by her grief, her brothers, Jacob, Christopher and Thornton one by one leave the escalating troubles of Ceylon for lives in England, yet their futures are not what they anticipate. Left behind, it is their quiet sister Frieda who chooses to remain and keep their heritage alive.
In England, the utterly handsome Thornton remains besotted by his equally stunning daughter Anna-Meeka; yet as memories of Ceylon fade, Meeka wants to be like all the children she mixes with and begins to resent her family's differences. This head strong young girl is soon a stranger to her parents; especially her father who wants her to set aside her love of music and study hard to become a doctor. Meeka though has no intention of following the grand dreams her father has for her.
This is a beautiful story, beautifully written by author Roma Tearne and certainly an epic story that sweeps through the lives of four generations of the de Silva family as the majority come to grips with a new country and a vastly different culture. "Bone China" is not something that I would normally look for or even purchase; however I am so pleased that the Vine programme has expanded my horizons.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I thought the start of this book was absolutely delightful - the description of the de Silva family's life in Ceylon in the years following WW2 was excellent and the characters were so beautifully drawn, they seemed to leap from the page. I loved the way Roma Tearne used the very different personalities of the children to explore the tragic repercussions of the breakdown of British colonial rule. However when the focus of the story moved to Britain, the magic seemed to disappear and I thought the book became much more turgid. At the end, a large number of new characters seem to come out of nowhere, which just seemed very artificial. Overall I thought this was a good description of the problems faced by immigrants to Britain but for me it did not live up to the expectation created by the first 100 pages.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Sri Lankan-born artist-writer Roma Tearne, who left her native country when she was ten, revisits the years leading up to the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983 - 2009) and its effects on families in her second novel, Bone China. In this novel, she is more interested in family issues than in politics, focusing on the lives of a Tamil Catholic family as it faces the inevitabilities of violence and warfare on their small island nation. Opening in 1939, the novel recreates the British raj in the era leading up to World War II, when Aloysius de Silva, his wife Grace, and their five children owned and lived on a large plantation, favorites of their British administrators.
When the British decide to leave Ceylon, however, the family moves to their "other house" near the sea in Colombo. Here they and their children come to symbolize the various movements competing for attention in the small island country in the years immediately after World War II, movements which eventually result in violence. Though the de Silvas are Tamil, with Sinhalese ties, it quickly becomes obvious to them that "There is something wrong with a country that will not unite." For some family members, escape to England offers their only hope, while matriarch Grace, in Colombo, tries to keep the remaining family safe in Sri Lanka.
Tearne creates a vibrant family saga involving all these characters, and though they tend to be somewhat stylized in personality and somewhat predictable in their behavior, she succeeds in keeping the action moving and the picture of life in Sri Lanka developing, even as the violence is taking its course and irrevocably changing the face of the country. Not surprisingly, the characters who have gone to England discover in Part II that their dreams have been unrealistic. Only a child, who has spent most of her life in England, is able to make a comfortable transition between the old life in Sri Lanka and her new life in England.
Tearne's beautiful and often lyrical descriptions of the natural world provide a brilliant contrast with the hostile human world, and in having the action span more than fifty years, she creates a broad panorama of history within the de Silva family. Often relying on portents, foreshadowing, and coincidence to resolve issues and keep the action moving, she creates passionate love stories which keep the reader involved. New lovers also broaden the scope, however romantic (and occasionally unrealistic) some of these plot twists may be. Tearne handles the needs of her large cast of characters and her extended time frame effectively, however, and ultimately, the reader recognizes that the characters' lives resemble the bone china teacups that matriarch Grace has passed down through the family--fragile, but glowing, when held up to the light. n Mary Whipple
Mosquito
When the British decide to leave Ceylon, however, the family moves to their "other house" near the sea in Colombo. Here they and their children come to symbolize the various movements competing for attention in the small island country in the years immediately after World War II, movements which eventually result in violence. Though the de Silvas are Tamil, with Sinhalese ties, it quickly becomes obvious to them that "There is something wrong with a country that will not unite." For some family members, escape to England offers their only hope, while matriarch Grace, in Colombo, tries to keep the remaining family safe in Sri Lanka.
Tearne creates a vibrant family saga involving all these characters, and though they tend to be somewhat stylized in personality and somewhat predictable in their behavior, she succeeds in keeping the action moving and the picture of life in Sri Lanka developing, even as the violence is taking its course and irrevocably changing the face of the country. Not surprisingly, the characters who have gone to England discover in Part II that their dreams have been unrealistic. Only a child, who has spent most of her life in England, is able to make a comfortable transition between the old life in Sri Lanka and her new life in England.
Tearne's beautiful and often lyrical descriptions of the natural world provide a brilliant contrast with the hostile human world, and in having the action span more than fifty years, she creates a broad panorama of history within the de Silva family. Often relying on portents, foreshadowing, and coincidence to resolve issues and keep the action moving, she creates passionate love stories which keep the reader involved. New lovers also broaden the scope, however romantic (and occasionally unrealistic) some of these plot twists may be. Tearne handles the needs of her large cast of characters and her extended time frame effectively, however, and ultimately, the reader recognizes that the characters' lives resemble the bone china teacups that matriarch Grace has passed down through the family--fragile, but glowing, when held up to the light. n Mary Whipple
Mosquito
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Bone China by Roma Tearne
I loved this book and can highly recommend it to anyone who likes family sagas. It gave an insight into what happened in Ceylon, or Sri Lanka as it became, at the beginning of the... Read more
Published 29 days ago by Annie
Epic Family Saga Which Ends Well
Like 'Brixton Beach', though less tragic, 'Bone China' is the story of a family of Sri Lankan immigrants who come to the UK. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kate Hopkins
An ambitious work, an enigmatic and gripping story
In Roma Tearne's second novel, she set herself the challenging task of describing four generations of a Sri Lankan family in the backdrop of racial tensions which culminated in a... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Sena
Atmospheric, but unsatisfying
Bone China is set in Sri Lanka at the beginning of the second world war. The story follows the fortunes of the de Silvas family over several generations. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2009 by TheLibrarian
Interesting but never really investigates its themes
Roma Tearne's little novel is quite interesting simply because it raises a whole load of questions about Sri Lanka the Tamils and the whole mess that arose after the British... Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2009 by J. Brand
Long and needs patience
Bone China is a long novel which will take some perseverance to get into it, you can't do it in a day. Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2009 by Freespirit
A delicate and descriptive Tale!
The novel begins at the start of the Second World War. Its scope is ambitious, taking in the vast sweep of modern Sri Lankan history and three generations of de Silvas as they move... Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2008 by P. Hargreaves
Not bad
My main reason for getting this book was its connection to Sri Lanka. However this book does avoid the details of the conflict. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2008 by okely dokely Fezz
A well written tale of immigriation
The De Silva family are living in the rural beauty of Sri Lanka when we meet Grace, her husband Aloysius, and their 5 children. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2008 by DubaiReader
Falls a little short of the mark
I ordered this book ages ago and have only just gotten around to reading it, mainly because I got it on a whim and when it arrived I wasn't sure it would be my type of thing. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2008 by Victoria
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