The Story of a Brief Marriage: A Novel Summary
Anuk Arudpragasam

The Story of a Brief Marriage: A Novel Overview

Anuk Arudpragasam's stream-of-consciousness styled novel The Story of a Brief Marriage follows a Sri Lankan Tamil named Dinesh through a single day and night in a refugee camp. Two and a half decades into a war between the government and a rebel group only referred to as "the movement," Dinesh and the other evacuees have little hope of seeing their families or the homes again. They live under constant threat, bombed by the government and drafted into war by the movement. An unexpected marriage proposal overthrows the monotony of this life, offering both a cover to avoid being drafted into the war and a chance to do something other than just survive. The Story of a Brief Marriage splices present action with past memories, touching on themes of communication, familial duty, disembodiment, and home.