A Maiden's Prayer: A Family Story Set in 1970s Sri Lanka
About the Story
A MAIDEN’S PRAYER: A FAMILY STORY SET IN 1970s SRI LANKA is the entertaining story of affluent bachelor Berty Rajakaruna, as told with much humor by his precocious niece Tamara.
Because Berty refuses to conform to the traditional methods of finding a wife, he and his extended family face dizzying obstacles. As with many middle-class Sri Lankan families of the day, the family is steeped in astrology and superstition and holds rigorous ideas on individual roles and behavior. Such beliefs plunge them into comical situations and unexpected consequences.
The family is particularly keen to tie the knot on his behalf because of his inheritance. Berty’s great-great-grandfather was a Mudaliyar – an official — under British colonial rule. He owned a magnificent house and property, which rightfully belongs to Berty, but it is being unfairly occupied by his sister.
The family believes that marriage, and the production of an heir, will legitimize Berty’s claim to the property and will restore family pride. Berty’s niece, Tamara de Silva, is a feisty 12-year-old. Like him, she questions the traditional rituals that govern their lives, and rebels against them.
When Tamara experiences her very first menstrual period, she must suddenly adhere to acceptable “ladylike behavior.” She is confined to her bedroom for a week with a tribe of maternal aunties puttering around her, changing her normal routines and dispensing ready advice about how she has now become a woman and what she must and must not do.
But the week that changed Tamara’s life is nothing compared to what lies ahead for Berty and the family.
A Maiden’s Prayer: A Family Story Set in 1970s Sri Lanka
August 2020
Formats: paperback and e-book
ISBN: 978-1-7354120-0-9
E-book ISBN: 978-1-7354120-1-6
Features and Reviews
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Author Judith Starkston’s Review
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Author Profile by Paul Maryniak
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Critical Reviews
Writer’s Digest Competitions 2021
This book has a unique voice. Personable and engaging, this story’s overall tone is one that invites readers in and keeps them entertained through all of the major plot points. Perera’s work includes levity that helps even out some of the weightier topics such as arranged marriage in general. Readers will be able to latch onto this voice and enjoy learning about another culture. Perera does a great job of offering several different perspectives and character types for readers to enjoy, each with their own appeal. Themes such as Sri Lankan matchmaking customs aren’t that common in American markets, so this book is already appealing just by virtue of it being something of a novelty. The added perspective of youth’s lens and a character willing to deviate from the norm keeps readers thoroughly entertained.
Judge, 29th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards, 2021.
The Journal of Commonwealth Literature
A Maiden’s Prayer is an engaging, occasionally hilarious account of Sri Lankan life in one of the most significant decades of its existence—the 1970s. Perera brings in many references to Buddhism, astrology, and horoscopes in her novel. They fit in well with Perera’s concerns. One of the strengths of this novel is how it demonstrates the resilience of Sri Lankans who adjusted to life’s challenges while still retaining a sense of joie de vivre.
The Journal of Commonwealth Literature 2021, Vol. 56(4) 683–700.
South Asia Book Award
This spellbinding novel narrated by a witty and keenly observant aspiring writer, teenager Tamara de Silva, unravels family and community secrets while detailing the role of astrology, match makers, and scheming Aunties’ efforts to marry off her eligible bachelor uncle, all amid the cultural and political atmosphere of the times.”
South Asia Book Award
More on the Book
Excerpt from Chapter 7, A Maiden’s Prayer
Every day at the twilight hour, with the regularity of vespers,
Anoma, the young woman in the house opposite ours, would tenderly play A Maiden’s Prayer at the piano. Through the white lace curtains, her long tresses and shapely form could be seen bent over the instrument, while the notes of the melody would waft out of the window and wrap the neighborhood with its sweet melancholy.
Precisely at that same point in time, Quaver, Anoma’s maiden aunt of questionable sanity, could be seen led out of the house by the dogs. Her real name was Norah Dias, but hardly anyone referred to her by this appellation; the middle-aged music teacher was either “Quaver” or “Old Maid” behind her back and “Miss Norah” to her face.
It was a debatable matter whether Quaver was taking the dogs for a walk or the dogs were airing Quaver after her long day teaching at the piano. Viewed from a distance and seeing how eager the canines were to sniff at the lampposts, the latter description more accurately fit the bill. After a certain time, both parties had hit upon a mutual degree of equilibrium. Quaver had perfected a dogtrot to keep up behind the leash. At its most harmonious, poised at a 45-degree angle to the land, her only view of the scenery was of the dogs’ exposed derrières and curled tails. The curly tails formed perfect “O”s, denoting that they were pariahs and not of noble pedigree, but they were considerate of her circumstances and well-mannered enough to never cause her to fall.
Quaver was always dressed in the same long white twill dress, which had acquired a brown border of mud after many moons of these travels. She had long hair too, which, let down at the twilight hour, was not conducive to aesthetic pleasure. But no one had made any pointed remarks, as almost everyone in the neighborhood had had a son or daughter learn music from her. The neighbors simply surmised that “Quaver had lost her comb again,” because the music teacher was in the peculiar habit of borrowing a comb from her neighbors, after which she would neatly plait her thinning hair by her side of the fence and return the comb.
Along with A Maiden’s Prayer and the emergence of Quaver and the canines, another group of rather unwelcome members materialized. The murmur of mosquitoes also started precisely at this hour, as they rose out of the water-clogged drains, thrown away coconut shells and shrubbery; a ravenous army in search of dinner. Therefore, instead of being charmed and soothed by the drifting overture, when they saw and heard the spectacle just described, the neighbors were in a momentary frenzy, irritably swatting themselves while hastily closing the windows…
What Other Authors Say
“A Maiden’s Prayer” is a lush family saga set in the country of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) chronicling the trials and triumphs of the de Silva family as they attempt to marry off their philandering young relative, Berty.
You’d swear “A Maiden’s Prayer” was a true memoir, but Perera only uses her memories and experiences of her childhood in Sri Lanka as a foundation, not as the story. Reminiscent of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” the characters are woven with realism, displaying all the forthright, heart-warming, and frustrating qualities we all have. The story that results is delightful, complex, sad, heart-breaking, and humorous all at once.
This is a delightful book! I loved the story, told from the point of view of a young girl in 1970s Sri Lanka. Using a search for a bride for Berty Uncle to drive the narrative, Perera gives us wonderful characters, each with their own endearing charms and maddening foibles. While Perera doesn’t ignore the trials of life, and particularly of life in Sri Lanka at that time, there is an emphasis on getting through, by focusing on family and different kinds of faith.
Rebecca D’Harlingue, author of The Lines Between Us.
The author paints a lovely portrait of life in Sri Lanka, a place I knew very little of. It is a coming-of-age story, strong in setting and interesting family characters. The title, A Maiden’s Prayer, comes from a movement in piano music by a Polish composer in 1856. The music became the piece “that every young lady of good family and unstained moral character was expected to play.” The metaphor suits the story. I did have a little trouble tracking all the foreign names and characters, but that does not detract from the story. If anything, they invite me in to explore a new place. This is a work of fiction, but clearly the author draws on her childhood and Sri Lankan heritage.
Katrina Shawver, author of Henry: A Polish Swimmer’s True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America.
“I’m always interested in books about Sri Lanka, so I was pleased to discover this charming story set there in the 1970s. It’s told through the eyes of a teenage girl, Tamara, and initially I expected more of a coming of age theme, but the main focus turned out to be on the efforts of her extended family to marry off the family’s wayward Uncle Bertie. The characters are engaging and portrayed with warmth, and there’s plenty of descriptive detail that brings the setting to life. I see from her notes that the author did a lot of research into the social and political situation at the time. I thought that she wove this into her story very skillfully. I enjoyed the references to old customs surrounding marriage too. If you like family stories coupled with the chance to learn something about another culture, I recommend this.”
Harriet Steel, author of the Inspector de Silva Mysteries
Multimedia
Interview with Akshaybhasha Literary Organization
Click the blue link to watch an interview with the Phoenix-based South Asian literary organization, Akshaybhasha.
Piano Rendition of A Maiden's Prayer
The novel’s title is derived from a piano piece, A Maiden’s Prayer, by Polish composer Tekla Badarzewska-Baranowska, which was first published in 1856 in Warsaw.