The Son and the Lover

In a society that is perennially chained to heteronormative politics and Buddhist ideologies, Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s The Son and the Lover makes a bold intervention in exploring a queer relationship between a Buddhist monk and a white Australian. In this page-turner that presents a meditation on a radical relationship between two star-crossed lovers across ethnic, national, and spiritual borders, the author never fails the reader. Chandrasekaram has a knack for portraying complex human emotions that often defy representation. While weaving the narrative within the recent religio-political tensions in Sri Lanka where Buddhist monks have played an outsized role as politically motivated agents and Australia which harbors a post-racial fantasy, Chandrasekaram takes us on a ride with the character arc of Hasi, the monk who derobes to pursue his dreams with his lover Phil. The story takes a radical departure from the usual escape narrative that views the West as the site of queer emancipation. Chandrasekaram’s novel, in this manner, daringly looks for alternative spaces for queer futures and hope.