Discover GEEO’s recommended books to read before you travel to Sri Lanka. Our book club is a way for travelers to learn through literature about the places they’ll be visiting.
These are some of our favorites about Sri Lanka, so if you’re heading there, take a look (the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs, just a bit of added fun)! We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance your experience.
You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!
Recommended books to read before traveling to Sri Lanka:
Fiction:
- Cinnamon Gardens by Shyam Selvadurai (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
Nonfiction:
- The Seasons of Trouble: Life Amid the Ruins of Sri Lanka’s Civil War by Rohini Mohan (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Teardrop Island: Following Victorian Footsteps Across Sri Lanka by Cherry Briggs (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
For those looking for more suggestions, here are some other books you may want to consider:
- Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Uncivil War by Indran Amirthanayagam (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Noontide Toll by Romesh Gunesekera (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Reef by Romesh Gunesekera (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- On Sal Mal Lane: A Novel by Ru Freeman (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Mosquito by Roma Tearne (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Road from Elephant Pass by Nihal de Silva (Amazon)
- Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan Karunatilaka (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- July by Karen Roberts (Amazon)
- A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Learning Politics From Sivaram: The Life and Death of a Revolutionary Tamil Journalist in Sri Lanka by Mark Whitaker (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
GEEO utilizes both Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!