Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan KarunatilakaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I came across this book on GR and was absolutely bowled over (pun intended) by the blurb, the beautiful cover and the reviews. This is a fantastic story about an alcoholic sports journalist W G Karunasena and his quest to uncover the story of Pradeep Mathew who was perhaps the greatest spinner to have bowled on the Sri Lankan pitches. He is aided by his friend and neighbour Ari Byrd and a couple of other colourful characters.
The author has spun a beautiful story incorporating the politics of Sri Lankan cricket and the country. The book has anecdotes of cricket in the 80s and 90s. It also gives an insight into the Srilankan people and culture, the racial tensions between the Sinhalas and the Tamils and a little bit about the LTTE. He has also explained each and every cricketing term and jargon with beautiful illustrations so as to make it inclusive for a non-cricket fan. But according to me it can only be enjoyed by a cricket fan or at least somebody with a passing interest in cricket. However, I found the book a bit too long. Otherwise, this is a brilliant piece of work by the author.
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