BEGGAR'S FEAST Hardcover

Randy Boyagoda's "Beggar's Feast" is an epic, sweeping novel that chronicles the extraordinary life of Sam Kandy, born into poverty in a small Ceylon (Sri Lankan) village in 1889, who defies his seemingly predetermined fate to become a wealthy shipping magnate and village headman, dying a century later. Abandoned by his parents due to an ill-omened horoscope, Sam embarks on a relentless journey of reinvention and ambition, navigating the bustling streets of Colombo, the docks of Sydney, and the brothels of Singapore, always driven by a fierce desire for recognition and to prove himself to the community that cast him out. This enthralling narrative explores themes of family, pride, tradition versus modernity, and the true cost of ambition, all set against the vibrant and tumultuous backdrop of 20th-century Ceylon as it transitions into modern Sri Lanka.