Chinaman

From author of Booker Prize 2022 winner The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

By: Shehan Karunatilaka

Narrated by: Shivantha Wijesinha

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the blazing debut novel from the Booker Prize winning author.

'A crazy ambidextrous delight' Michael Ondaatje

Where is Pradeep S. Mathew - spin bowler extraordinaire and 'the greatest cricketer to walk the earth'?

Retired sportswriter W. G. Karunasena is dying, and he wants to know.

W.G. will spend his final months drinking arrack, making his wife unhappy, ignoring his son and tracking down the mysterious Pradeep. On his quest he will also uncover a coach with six fingers, a secret bunker below a famous stadium, a Tamil Tiger warlord, and startling truths about Sri Lanka, cricket and himself.

'Bristling with energy and confidence' Sunday Times

Winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

©2011 Shehan Karunatilaka (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

The strength of the book lies in its energy, its mixture of humour and heartwrenching emotion, its twisting narrative, its playful use of cricketing facts and characters, and its occasional blazing anger about what Sri Lanka has done to itself... (Kamila Shamsie)

Carries real weight...a mixture of, say, CLR James, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Fernando Pessoa and Sri Lankan arrack...essential to anyone with a taste for maverick genius

Karunatilaka has a real lightness of touch. He mixes humour and violence with the same deftness with which his protagonist mixes drinks

Chinaman is a debut bristling with energy and confidence, a quixotic novel that is both an elegy to lost ambitions and a paean to madcap dreams

Chinaman's free-wheeling, zany tempo is part of its charm too. Its picaresque action, mainly based in Colombo and narrated in short bite-sized chunks, gives a vibrant comic pulse to Sri Lankan life, even though Karunatilaka's portrait of the country is scathing...it confirms that cricket, a game that is largely played in the head and inhabits a bizarrely detailed parallel world to our own, is ideally suited to the purposes of fiction

A Great Cricket Novel. For a game without much great fiction, that's a reason to applaud with drums - and forget the rules the marshals impose at Lord's (Salil Tripathi)

It's funny and original, extremely revealing about Sri Lanka, and as for the cricket, in the author's own words: "If you can't understand why anyone would watch, let alone obsess over this dull game, then this is the book for you." Brilliant (Kate Saunders)

At an early stage, I will confess that I was very close to typing 'Pradeep Mathew Cricinfo' into Google just to check whether there was indeed a Sri Lankan cricketer of that name ... that may be a recommendation of the book; it may be a condemnation. But I have always had a soft spot for Sri Lankan cricket (Steve James)

A hugely entertaining read

Confident and poignant debut

A masterpiece

Beautifully written and narrated. Most enjoyable, lovable characters and full of crafty wit. A must listen

Outstanding

Very realistic writing. Googled a lot while reading the book. That itself speaks volumes about the quality of the writing

It’s like getting a front-row seat to life in Sri Lanka.

*The Chinaman* by Shehan Karunatilaka was an unforgettable experience. Initially, the story might feel a bit slow, but once you get past that, the author’s hypnotic way with language truly draws you in. As someone who knows nothing about cricket, I found myself completely immersed in the story and the cultural nuances it presented. The beautiful narrative and amazing ending left me in awe. This book is a gem and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique and mesmerizing read.

A Love Letter To Cricket

Thinning the ever thinning line between reality and fiction comes a love letter to cricket.

Excellent story and performance

Excellent story!!
Sarcasm and national self-irony at the highest level.
Bravo for the most entertaining narration!