Sent on a marketing conference from Sri Lanka to London by her boss, Surya is supposed to be enjoying a change of scene after a tragedy that has left her grief stricken and lost – and compulsively fixated on a long-buried, shameful episode from her past.
Finding herself in the same city as the boy she birthed for an English couple seventeen years ago – in exchange for the money that paid her college tuition – Surya is prepared to risk everything for a glimpse of him.
Surya promises herself that she will be satisfied with just seeing her boy and knowing that he is safe and well. But when she tracks him down and follows him to work at a local café, she is left with more questions than answers. Why has he dropped out of school? Why is he at odds with the world? As they get chatting and he offers to give her a tour of London, she can’t resist the chance to get to know him better.
Forced to confront her past, Surya starts to navigate a way beyond her feelings of guilt, shame, and grief, towards a hopeful future – but what will happen when the boy finds out who she is? Could finding all she ever wanted mean losing everything for a second time?
It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for The Mother Sun by Sui Annukka today. Many thanks to Henrietta Richardson from Midas PR for inviting me and for my copy of the audiobook, received through Audible.
I don't listen to many audiobooks but was drawn to The Mother Sun, partly because it sounds like the sort of thing I like to read and also because Sui Annukka was the winner of the Women's Prize Trust Discoveries Prize 2022. I had a feeling I'd enjoy this debut but I wasn't ready for just how much it moved me.
Surya is a wonderful main character; the losses and challenges she has endured have evidently left her damaged and desperate to find some meaning in her life again but there's an inner strength which is perhaps more obvious to us than it is to Surya herself. As she slowly recovers from the aftermath of the awful tragedy which resulted in her mental health spiralling to rock bottom, a trip to London from Sri Lanka to attend a marketing conference is more than just the first step to her regaining her confidence. It also allows her to finally confront her past and as the novella progresses and we learn what shaped this fascinating woman, there are some heartrending, painful passages which explore various cultural and societal issues within Sri Lanka.
Surya comes from a small village and is the daughter of a cleaner but went to college hoping for more. However, her distressing experiences as a first-year student – as well as her courage – changes the course of her life. I found these scenes necessarily difficult to listen to and although the descriptions of what takes place aren't particularly graphic, the abject shame felt by those targeted as part of the ragging or ritualistic violence carried out at the university is almost palpable. Many of Surya's subsequent decisions and eventually the reason why she embarks on an emotionally risky mission while in London stem from an excruciating moment here. Of course, her grieving also contributes to her actions and Sui Annukka beautifully depicts somebody adrift and casting about for a sense of belonging.
She easily tracks down the boy she birthed as a surrogate mother over seventeen years ago but having rather naively assumed that just seeing him would be enough, she instead discovers an overwhelming desire to learn more. In a story which examines some upsetting topics, the unlikely friendship which develops between them is portrayed with warmth and wit, in spite of the issues which inevitably arise. Even though this is frequently a deeply poignant read, it sparkles with dry humour throughout, especially when Surya's inner voice allows us to know exactly what she's thinking and what she'd like to do to a fellow Sri Lankan delegate.
The Mother Sun is an unashamedly feminist novella and in perhaps the most affecting scenes, I found myself laughing then horrified before cheering a previously unlikely heroine and eventually reduced to tears. The narration by Nimmi Harasgama is superb throughout, perfectly capturing the rich descriptions as well as the mood of each moment and the distinct voices of all the characters. The smattering of Sinhala adds to the sense of authenticity and while I obviously wasn't able to understand the exact words, hearing them spoken meant I could grasp the meaning.
The Mother Sun is a relatively short book but it still packs a powerful punch, and is a harrowing, inspiring and ultimately hopeful debut. I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it.
The Mother Sun is exclusively published through Audible Originals and can be purchased here.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
About the Narrator
She plays series regular Nurse Mari in The Good Karma Hospital, for which she was nominated for an NTA Award for Drama Performance for her portrayal of Mari Rodriguez in The Good Karma Hospital.. She can also been seen on Netflix in Requiem as Detective Alice Brenton.
She played the female lead in Oscar nominated director Deepa Mehta’s Funny Boy.
In summer 2022 Nimmi led in Silence, a co-production between the Donmar Warehouse and Tara Theatre, directed by Abdul Shayek.
Nimmi is also a writer and recently had a commissioned rehearsed reading by Sky of her TV series Brown Girl Panic, where she played the lead.
She has just completed filming a series lead in a new four-parter for Quay Street Productions.
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