Draft:Cinnamon Gardens (Novel)

Cinnamon Gardens is a novel written by Shyam Selvadurai, published in 1998 by McClelland and Stewart. It is set in Sri Lanka during the 1920s, capturing the tumultuous final days of colonial rule in Sri Lanka. The story revolves around two residents of Cinnamon Gardens, a wealthy suburb in Colombo. Annalukshmi is a strong-willed young teacher and an early advocate for women's rights, caught between her family's expectation that she marry and her own desire to pursue her career and independence. Her uncle, Balendran, lives a life of privilege that is disrupted when Richard, a former lover from England, visits Colombo. Their uncomfortable reunion reignites old tensions with Balendran's powerful father, threatening the life he has carefully constructed. The novel addresses the religious, political, historical, and cultural disputes of the era, laying the groundwork for many of the issues that still plague modern-day Sri Lanka.

Distinctions
The novel received the following accolades:
 * Bulleted list item
 * Shortlisted for the Trillium Award, 1998
 * Shortlisted for the Premio Internazionale Riccardo Bacchelli (Italy), 1999
 * Shortlisted for the Aloa Literary Award (Denmark), 1999