The Beach at Galle Road

The long-term civil war in northern Sri Lanka rages between the Tamils and the Sinhalese in Luloff's debut collection of interwoven stories. Rather than focus on key belligerents, Luloff trains her eye on those caught in the rough wake of war. Janaki is a young woman who spends her days selling flowers and tending to her garden, children, and ailing mother-in-law. In another narrative thread, Sam, an American Peace Corps volunteer boarding at Janaki's home, falls for one of his students%E2%80%94the graceful and vibrant Nalanthi. But when Janaki's sister, Lakshmi, returns home from the conflict-zone following her Tamil husband's disappearance, rumblings from the north begin to disrupt Janaki and co.'s domestic peace. What begins as a flirtatious courtship between Sam and Nalanthi and a warm welcome home for a long lost sibling quickly devolves as the chaos of war draws Luloff's characters into turmoil. However, while the plights of Janaki's household resonate emotionally, an underdeveloped plot%E2%80%94further disjointed by the book's organization into stories%E2%80%94requires readers to fill in where Luloff fails to deliver. Agent: Christopher Vyce, The Brattle Agency. (Oct.)