A deeply moving tale of passion, devotion and hope

25 June 2022 03:48 am

The novel is a masterwork on history, culture, geography, and social conditioning of the African community

 

Incessant Hunting, authored by Gnanasena Pathirana and translated into English by Lloyd Perera, is a multi-layered story that explores the furthest reaches of what it means to be human; more precisely what it means to be a patriot. 

 

The book ‘Incessant Hunting’ is viewed as a vivid and engaging story

Ayonga, a young devoted teacher, journeys into an African country with the hope of giving emancipation to its tribal communities via education and religion. He has been broken by the society he lives in, yet mended by hope. The novel exhilaratingly captures Ayonga’s slow, but steady mission in rectifying crises and uncovering answers to unanswered issues, even amidst numerous obstacles. The story leaves the reader with a broad picture of the anarchism and political dilemma that prevailed in Africa, making an inquiry into the Apartheid movement. The tragedy of a country’s incapability to prosper from its treasure: the educated, is manifested as the heart-wrenching saga ends. 

The novel is a masterwork on history, culture, geography, and social conditioning of the African community. All of the above have been extraordinarily penned by both Pathirana and Perera; most often with intense metaphors to relentlessly unfold the characters and events with precision, and with a profound knack for storytelling. Their writing delineates the shattering reality of political regiments, giving the reader a vivid and engaging story of how the African tribal communities have been struggling to triumph over the forces who stepped in to dictate them under the guise of civilizing them. The plot, at times, rivets the reader to reminisce similar stories in the history of politics. 
Incessant Hunting is a lament for all devoted, yet wronged commoners around the world in the face of power.

The story leaves the reader with a broad picture of the anarchism and political dilemma that prevailed in Africa, making an inquiry into the Apartheid movement

 

Charged with patriotism, this wholly convincing journey of Ayonga unweaving before the reader’s eyes is both inspirational and incomparable. It is a deeply moving tale of passion, devotion, and hope. As a reader, I hope that the misfortunes of Ayonga will only be found in stories, and never more in real life.