They say this island of ours is the crossroads of the world. A lot of blah-blah about trade routes, sea lanes, strategic points, et cetera. But the more I see of it in this business, and the more people I meet, the more I understand the real truth of the matter. We live at one of those crazy junctions where everyone gets stranded not knowing which way to look, never mind go. All nodding like sleepyheads unable to ever completely wake up. Romesh Gunesekara's Noontide Toll was one of the Sri Lanka -related books that I read before and during a trip to the island. This novel was certainly a more bleak, sad and serious portrayal of the land than some of the others. Noontide Toll is a collection of short stories narrated by Vasantha, a van driver hired to drive aid workers, returning exiles, renovation constructors, tourists and others around Sri Lanka. Traces of the fairly recent civil war and the devastating tsunami are still present everywhere, and Vasantha's view of the ...