{"product_id":"noontide-toll-9781620970201","title":"Noontide Toll","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn postwar Sri Lanka, a hired driver observes his passengers—tourists, soldiers, businessmen, and others—in these linked stories by a “master storyteller” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Vasantha retired early, bought himself a van, and now works as a driver for hire. As he drives through Sri Lanka, carrying aid workers, entrepreneurs, and visiting families; meeting lonely soldiers and eager hoteliers, he engages them with self-deprecating wit and folksy wisdom—while revealing to us their uncertain lives with piercing insight.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e On his journey from the army camps in northern Jaffna to the moonlit ramparts of Galle, in the south, Vasantha slowly discovers the depth of his country’s troubles—as well as his own—while catching a glimmer of the promise the future might hold.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e From the Booker Prize–shortlisted author of \u003ci\u003eReef\u003c\/i\u003e comes a collection of “gracefully crafted road stories” that draws a potent portrait of postwar Sri Lanka and the ghosts of civil war (\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Romesh Gunesekera\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eMonkfish Moon\u003c\/i\u003e strikes the reader like a hammer blow. . . . Gunesekera’s subtly erotic prose animates Sri Lanka’s natural luxuriance, veined with menace.” —\u003ci\u003eVoice Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ","brand":"Romesh Gunesekera","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42955897536630,"sku":"9781620970201","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/1374\/6550\/files\/CoreSourceHub_8b1e5d87-2567-4b60-a9c0-b929afc2bf0c.jpg?v=1767713350","url":"https:\/\/ingramacademic.com\/products\/noontide-toll-9781620970201","provider":"Ingram Academic \u0026 Professional","version":"1.0","type":"link"}