Romesh Gunesekera's Booker-shortlisted 1994 novel Reef presents a fictional meditation on this issue, heavily wrapped in metaphor. Triton's flight to the kitchen counters the sea's 'history' by considering cooking and consumption a project of alternative historiography and healing.Ībstract = 'Following the rise of memory studies, several scholars have investigated the terrain between (and dividing) memory and history. Consistently, ocean waves reflect a relentless, terrifying progression of history, the current tide threatening to drown national plurality. But these seemingly 'unnecessary' and even 'exoticized' passages offer a complex metaphorical comparison between memory and history. First-person protagonist Triton, eschewing extended discussion about this unfolding political crisis, focuses instead on lengthy descriptions of the food he prepares and the cycles of the nearby sea. The work has been criticized for its narrative perspective: following the experiences of a young chef and his marine biologist employer, ultimately forced to leave an increasingly violent Sri Lanka. Following the rise of memory studies, several scholars have investigated the terrain between (and dividing) memory and history.

Reef by romesh gunesekera