An intriguing languid and laconic wafting aside with extended forefinger the veil over high society colonial days with the ensuing isolation engendered following independence. This very put downable books apparent climax drifts by until eventually on the last page, we discover the deeper purpose. An exploration of how intangible is truth and the vectors of presumption and prejudice we each bring to bear on it. ( )

http://homepage.mac.com/shawjonathan/... ( )

The Hamilton Case relates, in polished, lyrical style, the life story of an isolated, arrogant and moderately successful Ceylonese lawyer, Stanley Obeysekere. It is not a pleasant life story either – his reckless and feckless father is overshadowed by his detached and dysfunctional mother, his career marred by his overweening ambition, damaging jealousies and intransient intolerance, and his ability to form rewarding relationships with others undermined by his obsession and his guilt surrounding his curiously underdeveloped sister.

The glory of this novel lies in its prose – musicality drips off every page, so much so that one is lulled into a false sense of beauty and often has to re-read a paragraph just to make sure that such finely crafted words really could have said something so horrific. The story – even the action surround the Hamilton case, the murder of white farmer, in which Stanley makes his name – is consistently understated and the delivery always deviously subtle. The substance of the story itself though is insipid and, frankly, dull. It’s a shame that such fine words have been wasted on something so insubstantial: it’s all sugar and no meat. I cannot understand how this book could have won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, but it did. ( )

This novel is the story of Sam Obeysekere, a man born in Ceylon whose relationship to British Colonialism sets the stage for a discussion of the ways in which his family and culture are marked by the ghosts that rise up from the thousands of small deaths that result from being less than citizens.
While it is not a "mystery" in the traditional sense of the genre, it is certainly mysterious. After finishing reading it, I'm still not certain what really happened. And I think that's what distinguishes it somewhat from the run of the mill "mystery" novel.
This is not a tightly tied up investigation of a crime. It is the story of a man's life as told from multiple viewpoints. There is a murder mystery inset into the story, which is The Hamilton Case. But there are other mysteries as well: how did Sam & Claudia's baby brother die? how did Claudia's baby die? why did Jaya marry Claudia? how much can we trust Sam's version of events? how much can we trust Shivanathan's version?
At points I thought I knew the answers, but now I'm not at all sure. ( )

very evocative language and characters in Ceylon.

Set in Ceylon in the 1930s, Sam Obeysekere the narrator of this book is a pompous little lawyer, a product of Empire. His life is a disappointment to him. He makes his name with a notorious local murder which has caused a scandal, but even that does not provide him with any satisfaction. ( )