Suncatcher

The Suncatcher takes place in the 60’s however, the time period doesn’t dictate the overall theme. One could read this story and frame it in another decade and it’s still just as good and just as remarkable.
Kairo is a young and lonely boy. He is an only child. His mother works at the local radio station and when she’s not there she is taking dance lessons. His father works for the government, but when he isn’t working (which is often it seems) he is preaching to Kairo about politics or gambling or both. There is a very unique dynamic in Kairo’s home as his mother seems to be the one that “wears the pants” so to speak. I am not familiar with India during the 60’s but I do know that in most parts of the world, patriarchy was alive and well .
The author’s decision to create Kairo’s mom not as a subservient housewife, but a free thinking and “rebellious” woman was very refreshing.
While Kairo’s parents work and socialize, he keeps himself entertained by reading second hand westerns and adventure books from America, and riding his bike around town.
One day he meets an older boy, Jay, and Kairo’s life changes completely. Kairo had immediately taken to Jay, and soon he wants nothing more than to spend his every waking moment with him. After a little while Kairo realizes that he and Jay’s lives aren’t that similar but they also aren’t that different. They both like nature, adventure, and they both know how to use their imaginations because like Kairo, Jay is also an only child. His relationship with Jay sets Kairo on a path of not only trying to figure out who he is, but who the people in his life are too. He soon realizes that love and family are not as black and white as we assume. And for him, that changes his world.
This story, for me, tackles issues like love, identity, friendship, family, and humanity. The author does an excellent job of giving each character a voice and depth. Everyone from the main character to supporting characters fit into the narrative to help paint the picture.
I could not put the book down because it had me so enraptured. It touched my heart and opened my mind.
If you enjoy coming of age stories set outside of the US that depict complex but very relatable humans, The Suncatcher is definitely the book for you!

Suncatcher is a slow builder, slowly pulling you in, wrapping you around the storyline, and it is impossible to put it down until you reach the end. Romesh Gunesekera’s prose is so easy to read, but it’s depth and beauty stick with you long after you have finished reading. And the luscious descriptions of the Sri Lankan landscape had me captivated, at times I could easily imagine them passing through my mind, as in a movie.

Kairo is at that age when his main interests are comic books and his bike, and he longs for a friend to share his adventures with. A chance meeting with Jay leads to a summer of adventure; both boys from very different families and lifestyles, but finding a common ground in nature and play. As civil unrest brews around them, Kairo begins to see that maybe their differences are too great, and that maybe he was investing too much of himself in this friendship.

I always admire writers who are able to not only put themselves in child protagonists’ bodies and minds, but also accurately submerge the reader into them too: I found myself thinking like Kairo, seeing the world around him through his eyes. I especially love how the author allows Kairo’s comprehension of the world around him to slowly emerge, how he begins to understand relationships, actions, events, and people, and how things aren’t always as they immediately seem. While this novel is set in Sri Lanka (then still Ceylon) in the 1960’s, the political and social happenings of the time don’t distract from the main plot, but enhance it. I think most people will relate to Kairo and how he searches for friendship in Jay, despite their differences and the difficulties in maintaining the friendship.

I really enjoyed how both Kairo and Jay’s mothers have prominent roles in the novel, both as mothers, and human beings. As a side note, the first female prime minister democratically elected in a country was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, elected in 1960. While I knew this prior to reading this novel, I didn’t know much about her or immediate post-colonial life in Sri Lanka, and reading Suncatcher pushed me to learn a lot more about the country, and how she shaped certain areas for the better, but where she also helped create deathly strife between people that went on for decades afterwards.

This is a beautiful coming of age novel, I can’t recommend it enough!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.