'A Change ofSkiw ' is a smooth and sparkling debut novel of Yasmine
Gooneratne. Clash of cultures and adaptation are the popular themes in this
novel. Herself being an immigrant to Australia, Gooneratne relates her own
ekperience to the characters in the novel. The novel adopts the theme of
migration. The expatriate experiences of the central characters, Bharath and
Navaranjini run through out the novel hilariously. The novel is totally devoid
of hatred and self-loathing.
Gooneratne holds a Personal Chair in English Literature at Macquarie
University, New South Wales. She has a soaring academic career to her
credit. She holds a Cambridge doctorate and also Macquarie's D.Litt. In 1990
she was created an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service
lo literature and education. Her 16 published books include critical studies of
Jane Austen, Alexander Pope, and the contelnporary novelist and screen
writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. She is also the author of volulnes of literary
essays and poems, short stories, a family memoir and two novels. A Chutzgf
?f Skips was awarded the Marjorie Barnard Literary Award for Fiction in
1991. Both her novels have been short listed for the Commonwealth Writers
Prize.
In her novel A Change of Skies Gooneratne fuses two stories
encompassing two centuries, two continents and two generations. The story
of Edward, the grand father and the story of Barry, the grandson run
simultaneously. Gooneratne adopts a complacent tone and links these two
stories of the grand father's and that of the grand son's till the end of the
novel. The expatriate experiences of these characters resemble the theme of
'acceptance' and 'willingness' which Gooneratne herself seems to have
practiced to get accustomed to an alien soil.
Bharat is a young Asian-Professor of English who reluctantly migrates
to Australia, with his wife Navaranjini, for a five-year visit. Bharat is fully
aware of the problems that the new country would welcome with. Edward the
grandfather of Bharat is the first adventurer in the family of Mudaliyars, who
chooses Australia instead of England for his voyage. Edward runs away from
his family home in Matara, Ceylon, and enlists himself with a cargo of
Sinhalese laborers being recruited to work in the Queensland cane fields. The
diaries of Edward provide a counterpart to the lives of Bharat and Navaranjini
in their new land, Australia. The volulne of his journals is edited by his
grandson Barry as an 'Asian Grandee.' Edward's travels are important to
Bharat and Navaranjini as precedent and counterpoint for their stay in
Australia. Navaranjini packs off all the manuscripts of Edward thinking that
they would definite1 y be of some use to them during their stay at Australia.
'A Clzangc. of'Skies' is a hilarious and mirthful expedition of Bharat
arid Navaranjini to the foreign land. Starting from page 1 to the ending there
isn't any trace of grotesque in the novel which symbolizes Gooneratne's
positive attitude towards life. Her own expatriate experiences in Australia
appear to have received the assurance in her novel that compassion,
forbearance and complacency would make the life of mankind peaceful and
meaninghl wherever they may live.
Gooneratne tries to show how the novel is an illustration of
forbearance and compassion as the protagonist and his wife take no time to
get rooted in an unfamiliar and alien landscape-Australia. Cultivating the
habit of acceptance, breaking away from one's ethnicity and absorbing the
new culture are the only way for survival. This successful acculturation and
assimilation of Barry and Jean into a new landscape is beautifully portrayed
by the author.
'A Change of Skies' is an elegant voyage through the expatriate
experiences of the protagonist. The immigrant experiences of Jean and Barry
amazingly promulgate the positive and pleasant waves in the minds of the
readers. Their experience provides the main substance of the book. Bharat is
an intellectual and he reflects on his experience. He recognizes his alienation,
and depends on his wife's clarity of understanding to cope with his daily
vicissitudes. Me recognizes ( 1 53) that he lacks the easy acceptance of another
culture that characterizes both Navaranjini and Edward. He changes his name
to Barry and that of his wife's to Jean Mundy. Jean is more adaptable. She
resists the acculturation most violently and effectively. Yet she accepts her
new name and asserts her native identity.
The novel deals with the theme of cultural conflicts found in the first
and the latest waves of migration. The characters belonging to two different
centuries endure the cultural conflicts but they respond to them differently.
The earlier generation is represented by Edward Mangala-Davasinha, the
grand father of Bharat. The experiences of Edward Mangala-Davasinha are
projected in the extracts of his diaries. His diaries provide themes of hostility
and superiority. He finds the Australian settlers uncouth. He gives a
historical context to the difference he finds between the British governors of
Ceylon and those of the Australian colonies. The British governors of Ceylon
had been from the landed gentry and had viewed their dominion "much as
they would have viewed a well-stocked game reserve".
Edward had a staunch belief on the aristocratic qualities of the British
order. British governors considered themselves "the landowners who value
their stock". They could transplant their hierarchical British order in Srilanka
and could win the respect of the natives. They could achieve this through
their "wisdom".' British governors are wise in taking the native men into
their service "who knew the terrain and are already resident on the land".
(162) Edward observed that the Australian governors due to their lack of
'aristocratic qualities' were "misunderstood and even disliked by the settlers".
Edward shows a compassionate characteristic of adaptability, and
acceptance. He is prepared to disguise himself as a labourer to travel to
Australia. In the same way he is willing to accept any einployment available
in the new country. He goes as a stockman to Badagini in Western Australia,
a "dry and desolate place". Edward discovers the bleak side of the Australian
dream as he comes to know that many of his countrymen had died of heat and
thirst only a generation earlier. Those Sinhalese had taken pains in attempting
to impose a foreign culture on an alien land. In this process of adoption the
hopes of the settlers are constantly thwarted.
Edward finds the habits of his new associates distasteful: "The crude
cooking of raw, unseasoned meat over burning coals" is something that
Edward could not digest as the meat would often be "charred, and where it is
not so, it is generally raw, the blood still running from it". He further puts that
the smell of it would be 'vile' (1 66).
Edward's companion Davith, whq had profited by his earlier
experiences of travel, had made necessary arrangements so that their journey
to Australia wouldn't lack any 'reasonable comforts'(61). Davith brings with
him from Ceylon "a portion of curry leaves, spices, red onions, and pepper"
which makes their meat 'palatable'.
Despite his hardships Edward enjoys the companionship of the
stockmen. Joe, one of them is mentioned 'friend' in his diaries. Edward
writes in diaries that Joe would think of him as a 'customary good hearted
kindness'. Edward's travels and experiences form as the precedents and
counterpoints to Bharat and Jean. When Bharat becomes the author of the
book, "Guide for Asian Migrants to Australia", he incorporates the
experiences of his grandfather in it. Edward acquires the liberal breadth from
his colonial experience and that fonns the 'foundation of a family tradition
that enables him to explain and interpret one culture to another, the West to
the East' (145).
The experiences of Bharat and Navaranjini provide the main substance
of the novel. Bharat is an intellectual who reflects on his experience. He
recognizes his alienation and depends on his wife Jean for'clarity of
~nde r s t and in~ '~ to cope with his daily vicissitudes.
Like Edward, Jean also has the adaptability and acceptance to another
culture. To become an ' in~ider '~ Barry struggles a bit and his strenuous
endeavour to achieve this is in contrast to his wife's easy adaptability to
change her name from 'Navaranjini' to 'Jean'. Jean successfully retains her
native identity. In the beginning Bharat and Navaranjini have been involved
in the clash of cultures and are treated as newcomers in the strange land of
Australia. But in the course of their five year stay they began to feel that
Australians have Asian identity. They confront the consequences of their
choice. Already largely westernized, Bany finds an opportunity to make his
own choices and adopts the role of cultural communicator.
Gooneratne portrays the natives in bright colours. Mr. Bruce Trivally,
the neighbor, was very courteous and helpful to the new emigrants. The clash
of cultures begin with the observation of Bruce that the new 'Asian feller'
(98) belongs to the 'carpet culture of Srilanka' (99) and not to the chair
culture of Australia. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Trivally offer every minute help
they could extend to Bharat and Navaranjini. On the day the hail storm stroke
its way, Mr. Bruce volunteers to patch the gaping of the window panes. Soon
Bharat observes that Bruce is a passionate gardener. He learns from Bruce
that to fix up some shelves or hang a picture in Australia there are no master \
Baas he can call. He picks up the do-it-yourself expertise from Bruce. Bruce
offers his own kit of tools for the new immigrants to make use of, instead of
buying it for themselves. He also volunteers to prune their roses and to weed
their ragged garden.
Both Bruce and Maureen think kindly of Bharat and Navaranjini as
'exotics that are having difficulty sending roots into alien ground. Maureen
says that it would take five years for them to feel at home in Australia.
Bharat learns many things and starts making note of them from the
moment he lands on the foreign soil. As they drove from Sydney Airport to
the suburbs on their first morning in Australia, Bharat sits beside the taxi
driver. In democratic Australia, a person who engages a taxi must seat himself
beside the driver, and not in the back seat. The misguided idea of 'self-
importance' among the inen and 'modesty' among the women of Asia having
its long roots, make them cliinb into the back seat of the taxi they hire. In
Australia where people follow the dignity of labour Bharat makes a note on
his menlo pad:
" m e n in a taxi, always sit ill ,fj.ont, next to the driver, and
talk pleasantly to him as i f ' to an equal, no mutter how
diificult this might be jor ,you to do. "(59)
This is one of the first things he learned in Australia. Navaranjini
observes 'everyone, including the taxi driver who was driving as fast as
everybody else, knew exactly where they were going.' (65) She feels that
probably she would not be very good at living, or driving, in Australia.
Navaranjini has a kind of easily moldable characteristic. She understands the
need for such an easy bend as she feels that it obviously is a social need. She
learns swimming as it would be important for them to be in Australia.
She further observes that in Australia though people avoided looking at
one another, a sort of communication was taking place by way of the stickers
on the rear windows of the vehicles.
Both Bharat and Navaranjini understand the need to be on their own
guard against hostile attacks from the society in which they find themselves.
Mr. Koyako guides them to a great extent. Mr. Koyako is regarded as
something of a leader of the Srilankan community in Australia. As an
engineer working for a government department he is much respected. Despite
his stay in Australia for ten years he could retain the moral values and
traditions of his homeland. He is very strong minded in protecting and
preserving the values which support civilization. He feels that the children of
Srilankan families in Australia are put in situations of cultural danger. Many
have become infected with Australian values.
Mrs. Koyako is a very good cook. She never serves anything to her
guests other than Silankan savories and sweets. Mr. and Mrs. Koyako are very
religious, devoted supporters of three temples and wholehearted participators
on alms-givings and other ceremonies. They are kind enough to involve both
Bharat and Navaranjini in these ceremonies.
Gooneratne mirrors the 'identity threat' and the 'cultural threat' to
wh~ch the Srilankans in Australia are exposed. Mr. and ~ r s . ~ o ~ a k o live by
their principles. Mr. K's deep interest in educational matters is part of his
conviction that the only way Asians can preserve their national identity from
destruction due to their stay in Australia is to conscientiously keep up all their
national customs. He considers it his duty to do everything he can to
encourage the young people of the community to achieve their potential and
to this end he keeps his records of the achievements of the Srilankan children
up to date with minute care.
Bharat and Navaranjini get depressed about the image the Asians have
in Australia. Australians find it difficult to pronounce the names of the
Asians. So it became customary to the Asians to change their names and keep
it short and simple. In this process Bharat becomes Barry, and Navaranjini
becomes Jean. But they succeed in retaining at least the sound of the original.
Barry and Jean understand that they have to confront with the problem of
maintaining their cultural identity in the face of displacement and
expatriation, the temptations being 'great to give way and to give in'. As a
linguist Barry observes that 'he average Australian is lazy in his speaking
habits, and finds our long names almost impossible to pronounce.'(96)
Gooneratne encompasses various themes in her writing. One theme
that continually appears in her works is a reflection upon how the past affects
the future. She relays many of her own experiences to make her points more
personal and more real to the reader. An example of this is Relative Merits,
which is a personal memoir that is based on interviews with her family
members and on her own memories of her family's life. She takes her
family's past and ties in how her well-known family has affected Sri Lanka's
history. Another theme includes aspects of immigration and adjustment to
new lands. This theme is exemplified in ' A Change of Skies '. Living in the
new environment of Australia, Gooneratne highlights the changes in the
history also as themes of her works. The novel being totally devoid of hatred
and self-loathing; is filled with love and hope.
A Change of Skies has the ~neticulousness of a researched social history
and also the charm and intimacy of personal reminiscences. Her gift for
comedy is evident here in the delightful anecdotes that bring vividly to life an
array of eccentric characters remembered with humor and affection. At a
conscious level Gooneratne does not seem to regret the change because the
new land would be more equitable, but an unspoken 'sense of loss' pervades
the characters as she conveys, 'Change is impossible, denied by our
education, our interests, and the currents of social setting except, through
literature, and the power of the written worr4. This novel as well as some of
Yasmine Gooneratne's poem is thus an attempt to salvage fragments of the
past through the preservative magic of the written word.
In addition to a number of critical works on individual authors like
Jane Austen, Alexander Pope, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, studies of the literature
and culture of Sri Lanka and essays on other Commonwealth and Postcolonial
writing, which testify to her wide range of interests her latest novel 'The
Sweet and the Simple Kind' is also short listed for the 2007 Commonwealth
Writers' Prize Best Book Award.
One of Yasmine Gooneratne's early books titled hiverse hheritance
(1980) deals with literary texts from different regions of the world - but the
title also happens to describe the rich plurality of traditions that have gone
into her own making as a writer. A poet, a novelist, a literary critic and a
social historian, Gooneratne cornhines in her work the intellectual and
creative energies of a number of cultures that have shaped her, directly and
indirectly. There is continuity in everything Yasmine Gooneratne has written
so far, whatever be the genre. Fiction and history get woven together, poetry
permeates her prose. As a literary critic her attempts to explore histories of
exile and expatriation, the effects of imperial domination, and its aftermath
encapsulate the concerns of postcolonial experience. Born in Asia, partly
educated in England, having settled in Australia, she can rightly claim "The
raw material for what writers of our time are presenting as fiction is, in fact,
our life-experience, and the 'colonial' past they evoke is our family his tor^."^
Gooneratne's novel is a comedy in which the displaced characters, by
entering into the lives of others, produce a community which is located
within their new state but represents a nation that goes beyond any
boundaries. This conception of a nation as a place of meeting rather than an
enclosure provides the basis for a new conception of nationhood appropriate
to contemporary interdependent internati~nalism.~
Gooneratne efforts to thwart the narrowness of those who have never
changed skies and who, consequently, have no souls to alter.7 Jean is
projected as a symbol of colonial generosity. She is very generous in her
approach and very practical in her outlook. She observes that everyone in
Australia have a spirit of marked independence. She also realizes that
Australians, deep down, are really Asians. Their appearance of insensitivity
merely conceals their true nature. She breaks through the superficial
conviviality of her husband's colleagues to reveal their deeper prejudices,
and in doing so discloses her ownX. At the university open day Jean exhibits
the rare books and manuscripts. By doing so she not only earns profit for the
English department but confirms her opinion that a common humanity unites
Asians and Australians. An old version of detailed illustrated edition of the
Kama Sutra also takes its place in the exhibition. She observes a common
curiosity shown by all the people who attended the exhibition as many of
them rush in queue to own copies of the book.
The Australian friends of Barry and Jean wonder how both the
husband and wife could be considerate and compassionate to each other. In
their exploration to find the cause they observe the interesting thing in their
bed room. One of their beds is three inches higher than the other. The four-
posters are a gift from Jean's parents and intentionally Jean's parents
designed them to be uneven in height. Jean claims to the lower bed as she is
comfortable to look up to her husband. .lean's mother says 'a wife must look
up to her husband, since he embodies the principle of creative energy in
marriage' ( 1 83)
Margot and Mike, the neighbors of Barry, invite the Asian couple to
their twentieth marriage anniversary. Barry gets surprised to see Mike have
his new beds specially ordered and designed the way he has his own beds.
Mike takes him to his bedrooin to show the two magnificent four-poster beds
made of Australian cedar, one of the beds standing three inches higher than
the other. Mike says 'thanks to you. It's made me feel ten years younger, and
Margot's frisky as a minnow.' and nudges 'you Orientals, don't like to give
away your secrets, do you?' (1 96- 197) Gooneratne makes a point that human
beings, irrespective of their nation, have many things to share, through which
they can make their life comfortable. The only thing required is they should
think beyond their boundaries.
Jean tries to learn the Australian way of exposition in the society. She
keeps listening to the talks of Professor Blackstone. She even keeps a note
pad open while listening to the extempore of the professor. Jean gets
depressed on the comments of the professor over the Asians. She thinks that
Blackstone is a jingoist. The intolerance and bigotry he propels towards the
Asians makes Jean angry. When she happens to meet Blackstone at the
university, a hot discussion runs between her and the professor.
Ronald Blackstone's past remarks on the radio earned the ire. He said
on the radio
"Asiuns, polltite the oir with the,fi~nrc c?fro~z.stirzg meat. A t ~ i
we Australians rnust be trlert to i l~c cicrngrrs inllolved in our
sociep iJ' we ullow Asians irl who cannot assimilate arid
accept our customs" (1 21).
Jean retards to this remarks in disgust and anger:
"You have the impudence to offir me a suusuge roll, you
ignorant, non-vegetarian mcist. I am a Tamil, Professor
Blackstone, and a Hindu. Pure vcg and proud of it. What do
you take me for:' A pork eating Ching-Chong.? "128
Jean uses the derogatory expression, 'ching-chong' for distinguishing
herself from other Asians. Her outburst had a tinge of sorrow caused by loss
of identity. She promulgates the awkward connotation of her husband's
newly coined name Barry.
"In Sinhala, the 'bari' means 'incapable : It means
'impotentlAnd it was you who made my husband trade
in Bharatjor a name like Barry" (128)
Jean is daring enough "t claim that Professor Blackstone was passing
all the comments in ignorance that most of the Asians are pure-vegetarians.
And his tendency to generalize the things is something dogmatic related to
provinciality. Professor Ronald Blackstone acts with decency and decorum
when he became aware of his lapse. Jean realizes that in spite of her hostility
towards him Prof. Blackstone behaved befitting a gentleman:
"You mustn 't judge people too hastily ... this experience
showed that Aztstralians can be civilized, Ifyou go about it
tactfully."(128- 129)
Gooneratne's approach to the expatriate experience is more serious
and also positive. Everyone who was there in that gathering heard Jean's loud
and clear protest, and they considered it to be a way of 'deconstruction' of
Blackstone. Jean is recruited to the campus branch of the women's
movement. She accepts to the proposal as her family has long-established
connections with women's right in SriLanka. She propels to be a typical
Asian woman, a source of the loving, and nurturing care that stands between
Asian women and brutal male exploitation. Jean had ~ o t a diploma in
librarianship. She set to work organizing display cabinets, collecting staff
publication, writing labels, and designing posters and notices.
Encouraged by the successes, Jean accepts the role of supporting her
husband and recognizes that she is the one who brings into the new land the
old stories that can make sense of common experience of peopie of different
origins9. Jean provides the true meeting point of cultures by establishing a
restaurant and school of cuisine.
She starts her project of writing 'A COOKERY BOOK'. She requests
the help of her mother and her sister-in-law. She starts collecting recipes
which cotnbine Oriental and Western ingredients and methods of preparation.
She follows her mother's principle of 'self help' (208) a way she adopts in
her social service projects.
As Jean gets along with her project, she enjoys full freedom in giving
her tips in her own way, 'When you don't find an egg beater to beat the egg,
don't hesitate to use your hands'. The Australians, who otherwise would bark
at the suggestion, receive it casually. Jean leads the busy, busy life of a
restauranteuse and TV presenter. Her husband Barry works with non-English
speaking migrants. He is already the author of several academic tomes and
books.
An identity change1" that began in the lives of Barry and Jean
continues till their death. Barry and Jean die in a plane crash while going to
see Bruce and Maureen as usual at Christmas. This makes Bruce and
Maureen feel that they are responsible for Edwina. They continue to take care
of her. Gooneratne presents a perspective understanding of cultural clash.
Barry takes it a pride to become a father. Jean believes that though their
marriage was an arranged one there relationship is bound on love and faith.
It is this love and faith that helps Jean push away the infatuation of Francesca
Sweet lips, the colleague of Barry. Jean thinks that Barry is her property, and
she has every right to protect it and to keep it for herself.
Barry has always believed in the power of individuality. With new
careers in hand, and a daughter, Edwina growing up? Barry and Jean develop
the habit of discussing the things to be carried out in an open and
unemotional way. 'To judge anythmg properly, a problem or a painting, you
need to step back from it, to distance yourself,' (298) as Barry says they try
to keep their thought of their horneland in the course of discussions.
Gooneratne projects the novel 'neither to be a fanatic outburst nor an
escapist's sentimentalism. It is an objective analysis'" that promotes better
hutnan relationships.
Yasmine now in her seventies, is a woman of many parts. She is an
internationally known university professor, literary critic, editor,
bibliographer, novelist, essayist and poet, and combines these roles with those
of loving mother and wife with characteristic charm. Cooking, not writing
was her first love says Gooneratne in an interview with Ayesha R. Rafiq.
Yasmine considers her 'fortunate to have been born a Sri Lankan'. She
somehow manages to effortlessly merge her ideas about life and love, which
she admits she derives from one of her favorite authors Jane Austen, on
whose work she is an eminent expert, with those of today's generation.
We can see the autobiographical note in her novel 'A Change ofSkies '
as the east and west confront and face one another in a meaninghi way and as
the narrative moves backward and forward in time it tends to bridge
geographical and emotional space between the two cultures and to flatten time
as one continuous flow of duration.
In 'A Change qf Skies* Gooneratne suggests, that it is no longer
possible to locate,the origin of a particular idea since all ides circulate rather
uncannily through time and space. The novel is a playful exploration of the
mysterious ways in which human mind tries to connect itself to various ideas
originated differently hut intersecting with one another. The theme of
uncanny dissemination of ideas and their mutual imbrications is further
explored in the novel.
Spanning over two centuries and two continents, this novel tries to
build a bridge between reminiscences and experiences, private lives and
historical events and establishes a complex web of relationships between
disparate ideas and events. Gooneratne uses the post modernist technique of
chronological disorder. The episodes of Edward's experiences in the form of
his diaries continue to appear through out the novel. Though Gooneratne
narrates the novel in first person narrative, the '1' in the chapters refers to
different characters. Sometimes it represents Edward, sometimes Barry and
sometimes Jean. In the last chapters it even represents Edwina. Thus
Gooneratne could successfully transform this first person to four consecutive
generations.
Like Roy and Nasrin, Gooneratne also believes in the technique of
reiteration to shove the thrust on the idea she wanted to express. She repeats
the experiences of Edward with Jean and Barry to bring to the fore the theme
of compassion to the reader. Though it is not an easy task for the expatriates
to mix with the alien set up, Gooneratne shows that traditional cultures have
the hidden innate strength to stand shocks from outside. The characters
derive the confidence, to with stand the temptations of the foreign land, from
frequent remind and references to their native tradition. Mr. and Mrs. Koyako 0
is the best example for this.
Gooneratne presents the calm appreciation of the need for security and
commonsense as something natural as well as commendable. The novel may
be read as 'a negotiation of Sri Lankan migrant identity in Australia and as a
negotiation of gender relations within the migrant community""
Gooneratne successfully accomplishes the family context of 'an
unlikely, ~ulturall~-mixed"~ marriage of Navaranjini, a Tamilian and Barry, a
Sinhalese Christian. The easy-adaptation and unyielding adherence to the
familial bond is the core thread that unites Barry and Jean through out their
life despite little confusions and misunderstandings. The successful thrive
and nourishment that they extend to one another is its own reflection of
Gooneratne's personal life. Having collaborated with Brendon, himself a
highly acclaimed medical academic and ardent historian, on several projects,
Yasmine fondly says of the man she has been married to for over 40 years and
attributes her success to, "1 never once thought of divorce, but have frequently
contemplated murder". I
In her novel 'A Change of Skies' Gooneratne connects the third
generation character 'Edwina'. She is the daughter of Jean and Barry.
Edwina who eventually turns to be Vina is also connected to the line of cross-
cultural iconoclasm. Barry and Jean die in a plane crash, while they were on
their way to join Maureen and Bruce's Christmas celebrations. The sudden
death of Barry and Jean does not prevent the progress of the novel.
Gooneratne links the setting to Edwina in the epilogue. We come to know
that Edwina becomes the responsibility of Maureen and Bruce. They continue P
their kindliness and spontaneous friendship towards Edwina.
Edwina is seen visiting Maureen and Bruce's Christmas celebration as
was practiced by her parents. She feels more at home in the company of
Maureen and Bruce. Though she appears only in the epilogue we see her
'expanding the cultural horizons'15 started by her great grand father, Edward.
The sparkling fabrication of the theme of liberation with the theme of
cultural assimilation I h can be related to the successful understanding of one's
own self in relation to the others. Despite its effervescent comedy and a
hilarious description of human existence the novel turns out to be a serious
reflection on the deeper levels of change, identity and belonging at the end.
REFERENCES
1. Mc Laren, John. "Nations without States: The Search for Home in
H.H.Richardson's Fortunes of Richard Mahony and Yasmine
Gooneratne's A Change of Skies". The Comlnonwealth Review. Vol. 7,
NO. 1, 1995-96. pp.79-86. p84.
2. Ibid p85
3. Ibid p85
4. http:llwww.Wikipedia.comi Commonwealth writerslGoonertne, 17/07/08
6. Mc Laren, John. "Nations without States: The Search for Home in
H.H.Richardson's Fortunes of Richard Mahony and Yasmine
Gooneratne's A Change of Skies". The Commonwealth Review. Vol. 7,
NO. 1, 1995-96. pp.79-86. p80.
10. Nityanandamhdira. "Yasmine Gooneratne's A Change of Skies and
Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine: The Immigrant Experience in Australia and
the U.S.A." The Commonwealth Review, Vol. 4. No.2, 1992-93. Pp. 50-
54.
11. Khan, A.G., "Bushes in Two Hemispheres: A Comparative Study of
Susanna Moodie's 'Roughing it in the Bush' and Yasmine Gooneratne's
'A Change of Skies"'. The Commonwealth Review, Vol. 7, No. I , 1995-
96. pp.87-96.
12. Ayesha R. Rafiq. Interview
13. Bramston, Dorothy. "A Srilankan Writer in Australia: Yasmine
Gooneratne's 'A Change of Skies". New Literature Review. No.31,
14. Ibid. p.20
15. Ibid. p.30
16.Khan, A.G. 'From Arjun to Barry: Cultural Assimilation in 'A Change of
Skies', Com~nonwealth English Literature.