Book Review

Reef
by Romesh Gunesekera

This warm, languid novel is the memoir of Triton, a Sri Lankan who spends his boyhood and youth as the servant of Ranjan Salgado, an aristocratic marine biologist. Triton starts out as the houseboy but soon becomes Mr. Salgado's sole servant as well as an accomplished cook. The book is both a coming-of-age novel and a metaphoric exploration of Sri Lanka. Gunesekera's prose is lyrical and evocative, making this a very enjoyable read.