The Gratiaen Prize 2025 – Winner

In a society that is perennially chained to heteronormative politics and Buddhist ideologies, Visakesa Chandrasekaram’s The Son and the Lover makes a bold intervention in exploring a queer relationship between a Buddhist monk and a white Australian. In this page-turner that presents a meditation on a radical relationship between two star-crossed lovers across ethnic, national, and spiritual borders, the author never fails the reader. Chandrasekaram’s novel, daringly looks for alternative spaces for queer futures and hope as he takes us on a ride with the character arc of Hasi, the monk who derobes to pursue his dreams with his lover Phil.

The Son and the Lover is a spectacular literary feat accomplished with a magical imagination, evoking the cinematic paintings of Satyajit Ray juxtaposed with uncanny dream sequences characteristic of David Lynch’s cinema. The novel’s lyrical prose is matched by its deftness to portray profound human emotions with unparalleled depth, masterfully dissect desire and resuscitation, and articulate a philosophy of life. It is a tour de force that introduces a rebel to the Sri Lankan literary scene.

– Dinidu Karunanayake –

33rd Gratiaen Prize Jury