Author | Shehan Karunatilaka |
---|---|
Illustrator | Lalith Karunathilake[1] |
Cover artist | Eranga Tennekoon[1] |
Language | English |
Set in | Sri Lanka |
Publisher | Self-published |
Publication date | 2010 |
Publication place | Sri Lanka |
Media type | |
Pages | 499 |
Awards | 2008 Gratiaen Prize 2012 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature Commonwealth Book Prize |
ISBN | 9789555236003 (first edition) |
LC Class | MLCS 2010/01106 (P) PR9440.9.K378 |
Followed by | Chats with the Dead / The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida |
Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew is a 2010 novel by Shehan Karunatilaka. Using cricket as a device to write about Sri Lankan society, the book tells the story of an alcoholic journalist's quest to track down a missing cricketer of the 1980s. The novel was critically hailed on publication, winning awards and much positive review coverage.[2]
On 21 May 2012, Chinaman was announced as the regional winner for Asia of the Commonwealth Book Prize[3] and went on to win the overall Commonwealth Book Prize announced on 8 June.[4] It also won the 2012 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, and the 2008 Gratiaen Prize.[5] Published to great acclaim in India and the UK, the novel was among the Waterstones 11 selected by British bookseller Waterstones as one of the top debuts of 2011[6] and was also shortlisted for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.[7]
In April 2019, Chinaman was voted among the best cricket books ever by Wisden.[8] In 2022, the novel was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[9]
Sunday Observer
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).