Novel
ජයතිස්ස සහ රොස්ලින්
Not translated into English
Piyadasa Sirisena · 1906
Synopsis
Jayatissa, a young Buddhist who knows how to persuade when he speaks, falls in love with Roslin, the daughter of a Catholic family. To win her, he must face her parents in long disputes about religion, in which Buddhism is set against Christianity and against customs imported from Europe. A rival, Vincent, stands in their way, and the story even brings in a forest deity.
Context
The novel first appeared as a serial in the Sarasavi Sandaresa, then in volume form, in 1904 according to some sources and in 1906 according to others; it was also published under the title Vasanavanta Vivahaya, “the happy marriage”. Its aim is to demonstrate the superiority of Buddhism over other religions, and its characters debate this in controversies that take up a large part of the book.
Who it is for
A novel with a thesis, in Sinhala, with no French or English translation; religious disputes weigh more heavily in it than the action.
Prizes and reception
Sold in more than 25,000 copies, a figure that no Sinhala novel of its time reached: its author's greatest success.
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