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Close to home
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
They say home is where the heart is and this rings true in Karen
Roberts’ writing. Though residing in California, her writing comes from
the heart, drawn from a mosaic of childhood memories.
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Karen
Roberts |
“I felt maybe it was time to use this ‘voice’ that I seem to possess,
to do something. I knew that writing the book was not going to change
anything but at least I felt that somebody had captured it and
acknowledge for those who suffered as a result,” says our ‘Encounter of
the Week’, referring to her second novel July. Published in 2001, the
book deals with the 1983 ethnic violence, hit home and gave her
confidence to continue. She had seen three of her novels in print and
even translated into Dutch, Greek, Portuguese and Spanish.
Q: You live in the US but all three of your novels are set in
Sri Lanka.
A: I think I wrote The Flower Boy out of nostalgia. What I
found in that process was that I had a remarkable memory for all things
Sri Lankan - perhaps out of homesickness. I was living in Dubai at the
time and certainly didn’t consider it home.
July and The Lament of the Dhobi Woman were written in the US and I
still felt a stronger connection to Sri Lanka than I did to California.
I feel I know it better than any other place and so I write about what I
know best.
Q: There’s a belief that Sri Lankan migrants’ writing on their
motherland is unrealistic because they have been away from the county
too long and do not know the issues in this part of the world. Their
writing and thinking have been shaped into the foreign thinking
pattern when perceiving Sri Lanka. Comment.
A: I don’t think so. As a matter of fact, I feel we (Sri
Lankan writers living outside of Sri Lanka) have a more acute sense of
place because we live elsewhere. Nothing is taken for granted. If you
look at writers like Shyam Selvadurai and Michael Ondaatje, one can
hardly say their thinking or commentary is less authentic than a writer
living in Sri Lanka.
Q: Was writing July a therapeutic experience for you?
A: Yes it was. I was just 17 when it all happened and I think
children have an acute sense of right and wrong. It affected me very
deeply but I’m very glad I wrote it. I’ve had many people from different
religious and ethnic backgrounds thank me for recording those events.
Q: You took your time in penning The Lament of the Dhobi
Woman. What took you so long?
A: When I write, my work takes precedence over everything,
even though I’d love to find more balance. July was published in 2000
when my son was five and he needed my undivided attention. Then I
remarried, raised two step-daughters as well as my son, and writing kept
getting pushed to the back burner. My children are now older and so my
writing is once again my baby.
Q: You have said that the title of The Lament of the Dhobi
Woman is aimed more at Sarla rather than Seelawathi. Why is this,
especially since Seelawathi plays a more prominent role in the story?
A: Actually, the title is a metaphor for dirty laundry and not
a reference to either of the two women.
It addresses the lengths to which the upper class will go to protect
their family name and reputation - to prevent their dirty laundry from
being aired (or washed) in public.
Q: Did any particular characters in your childhood inspire you
in forming Sarla and Seelawathi’s roles and the conflicts occurring
between them?
A: I have always been of the opinion that there is no real
fiction, nor fictional character - that all fiction is rooted in fact.
Sarla and Seelawathi are not based on two specific people but are rather
a mixture of different people. For example, the character of Seelawathi
the nurturer is based on Yasawathi who was one of our childhood nannies
- and my son’s nanny in later years. But there are so many other facets
to Seelawathi’s personality which are nothing like Yasawathi - her
recklessness for example. Sarla’s character is loosely based on many of
my parents’ friends - they were a wonderful, sophisticated breed of
women who weren’t necessarily hands-on parents. This didn’t make them
any less - it’s just the way it was back then.
Q: You talk about Chandi’s friendship with a British planter’s
daughter and the love that blossoms between his mother – the housekeeper
and the girl’s father - the Sudu Mahattaya in The Flower Boy. Similarly
The Lament of the Dhobi Woman focuses on a relationship between a young
Sinhalese girl - the nanny and her mistress’ brother. Were you thinking
along similar lines when you traced these relationships?
A: Someone asked me if I am drawn to taboo relationships.
Given the protagonists in all three of my books, I suppose I am
somewhat. But I feel I am more drawn to the stigma attached to these
illicit relationships, to society’s reaction to them, and to the rigid
class differences which still exist under our increasingly Westernised
veneer.
Q: Would you say that it is Catrina who is the actual ‘victim’
of the story?
A: Yes. Children are innocent which in turn makes them
vulnerable. Seelawathi is a victim too, but she is an adult and though
she’s uneducated, she is completely aware of the consequences of her
actions. In the end, it is Catrina who loses not just one, but two
mothers.
Q: Your female characters (eg Seelawathi, Sarla, Priyanthi,
Premawathi) stand out in comparison to the male ones. Was this
intentional or naturally happened because you are a woman?
A: Even in male dominated societies, I’d say the real strength
of a home, the quiet, constant strength is usually that of the woman.
Q: Is your work aimed at giving ‘voice’ to the ‘voiceless’
community?
A: I think it is. I’ve always been a bit of a cheerleader for
the underdog.
Q: Does a writer necessarily have to be intimate with the
subject he or she writes on and aren’t you ‘intimate’ with California
after more than 12 years to write a novel based on your surroundings?
A: Intimacy can be defined in so many ways. For me to write
about a place, I have to feel it in my bones, smell it, taste it, dream
about it ...
I’ve woken up from dreams with the taste of kiri kos in my mouth. I
did start a book set in California but I didn’t feel I had enough of a
connection to keep going. Perhaps one day...
Q: Your novels have been translated into Dutch, Greek,
Portuguese and Spanish. Why those particular languages and how was the
feedback?
A: The Dutch and Portuguese were easy - because of the content
of The Flower Boy, its colonial setting and prior colonial history,
there was interest in making it available to Dutch and Portuguese
readers.
I don’t know where the Greek and Spanish came from but I thought it
was great - especially the Greek!
Q: Tell us a bit about your fourth book. Will it be based in
Sri Lanka?
A: Since I don’t work with outlines or storylines, there’s not
much to tell. I’ll know more when I’m done! Yes it is set in Sri Lanka,
it will be published, and you’ll see it hopefully in 2012.
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