Book Review: The Migrant’s daughter by Nimal Nilaweera – By George Somasundaram

Book Review: The Migrant’s daughter by Nimal Nilaweera – By George Somasundaram

Image Source : yaaya.com.au

Source : Dæhæna – June 2026

Nimal Nilaweera is a Geologist who graduated from Peradeniya University and later completed his PhD at AIT Bangkok. He is now retired and lives in Melbourne. This is Nimal’s debut novel. “I prefer to be identified as a Migrant’s daughter rather than an immigrant or a migrant”. This is the introduction to the story where the narrator is Amanda de Silva. It was an era when many professionals like Amanda’s dad, Sam, relocated from Sri Lanka to Australia in search of better life opportunities.

Amanda was twelve when her family of four including parents and sister moved to Melbourne leaving behind her loving extended family. Her grandad, a distinguished Army veteran, was a mentor to Amanda encouraging her to participate in martial arts. He conveyed his ‘valuesbased-messages’ via stories to his grandkids. The ‘sniper’s story’ was one ingrained in Amanda’s memory.

The story moves to fifteen years later with Amanda now a qualified Accountant. She had been suffering from panic attacks fuelled by an incident from her teen days. Though she escaped physically from the hazard, she had been unable to recover psychologically from the trauma. Having suppressed this information, Amanda is overcome
by guilt and confides to a work associate James. James, seeing the pain she is undergoing, encourages her to explore avenues for reporting the incident even at this late date. Fortunately, Amanda’s parents are supportive though culturally this would have been frowned upon in the close-knit Sri Lankan society.

Buoyed by the confidence gained from the enthusiasm of her inner support group, Amanda embarks on this adventure to bring the perpetrator to justice. To accomplish this, she undertakes a bold mission to collect evidence and witness statements. James’s brother, a lawyer, steps in to offer guidance in building a solid case. Her
grandfather introduces her to a useful contact in Sri Lanka in pursuit of evidence. Her assignment turns dangerous as she travels to Sri Lanka and New Zealand in her quest to gather proof. Some of the witnesses are scared and understandably not forthcoming. On the other hand, the perpetrator on sensing being cornered, resorts to violence as a solution. It all ends in a thrilling climax.

This is a gripping story addressing social issues that are prevalent in current day society. It also skirts around generational perceptions among newly arrived adult immigrants and their children who grow up in an Australian culture. It explores the justification of loyalty of those who are in debt to a powerful and ruthless overseer.

As his maiden book, Nimal has succeeded exceptionally well. He follows the easy flowing styles of Sri Lankan authors and keeps the reader interested with the suspense. The 2025 study by the Australian Bureau of Statistics disclosed that Sri Lanka ranked 9th as a country for Australians born overseas. The timing of this book is a testimony to the importance of the Sri Lankan diaspora.

George Somasundaram
George resides in Brisbane and currently retired