Book Review: Nomakena Sevaneli (නොමැකෙන සෙවණැලි ) by Hemamala Herath – By Wimal Kannangara
Source : Dæhæna – September 2023
This is an unusual book review/ extract in that it is written in English about a Sinhala book.
“Nomakena Sevaneli” is based on a true story woven around the diary of a person named Julia, the author Hemamala Herath had met during her 13 year long stay in Wodonga, Victoria.
Both Julia and Hemamala had been members of an Inter-faith Group that was involved in social work and charities in Wodonga. During meetings it was discovered that Julia had faced serious difficulties in life, and that she had written about them in a diary and notes.
Julia, the elder daughter of a bricklayer father and a mother who was a nurse living in a yet to be completed home
had psychological issues seeing and communicating with unreal beings. While she was the favourite of her father, she had a difficult relationship with her mother and her beautiful, smart sister. Julia falls in love and marries the son of her neighbour Tom. Over time, while her marriage to Tom sours and they go their separate ways, her sister marries well and on her way to
success and happy life. But life is full of surprises.
Running parallel to the story of Julia is the story of Aathma, who lives in Wodonga with her husband and is a writer whose books are published in Sri Lanka. Life of her parents who moved to Melbourne after their working life in Sri Lanka revolves around the younger siblings of Aathma and the Sri Lankan community. The values of Aathma and those of her siblings are quite different and this causes friction in the family although they pale in comparison to those of Julia.
Riding the ripples in life, the issues get resolved and Aathma looks back at life as unfading images.
This is a book about humanity. Despite the differences in culture and backgrounds, a common thread of family relationships remains intact.
Note: Hemamala Herath is a resident of Brisbane.
Wimal Kannangara
