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Romesh Gunesekera’s 1994 novel Reef examines the sociopolitical discord experienced by Sri Lanka in the aftermath of its independence. The narrative is predominantly scrutinised through the lens of war and conflict. Nonetheless, this paper attempts to redirect the analysis away from political violence and towards the representation of slow violence, specifically through an exploration of environmental degradation as depicted in Reef. Rob Nixon, in his seminal text Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, articulates his notion of slow violence by differentiating it from conventional forms of violence, emphasising that it often escapes recognition due to its subtle, incremental, and passive characteristics. This concept will be elucidated through the persistent motif of the deteriorating coral reef within the narrative. The reef not only symbolises the consequences arising from diverse anthropogenic factors but also highlights the commodification of natural resources.
Ayman Wani, Huma Yaqub. “Toxic Oceans and Ecological Emergencies: Exploring Slow Violence in Romesh Gunesekera’s Reef.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 3, June 2026, pp. 36-55. DOI, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n3.3.
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