The Mischievous Ghost and Other Short Stories

Book excerpt: The Mischievous Ghost and Other Stories are short stories based on life in Sri Lanka in the 1950s and ?60s, just after the country gained independence from England. The experiences of the last colonial rulers still hanging onto the empire and unable to cope with the changes are dealt with gentle irony. The author also hilariously exposes charlatans, whether they are voodoo priests, Buddhist monks, or Christian vicars. From the inefficient policeman who finds a creative way to solve murders to the ordinary man who has an extraordinary double life, the stories will charm the reader. Marriage brokers, fire walkers, demons, spirits, and ghosts all have their place in these wonderful tales of another time and culture painted lightly and with a humorous touch. An arrogant butler uses magic potions that have a disastrous and unwanted outcome. A police inspector who is unable to solve murders gets help from an unusual source. Then there is the fire and brimstone preaching reverend who gets seduced by a maid, and the downtrodden housewife who slips easily into the role of Queen Victoria.