Invictus by Vyshali Manivannan
"I have lived most of my life trying to reconcile aspects of my Sri Lankan heritage and my American identity."
 

Invictus
a Novel
by
Vyshali Manivannan
235 pages
Online Price $15.00
Shipping and Handling within the US $2.00
ISBN  0-9
7
2268839
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About the Author

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About the Book
A highly charged tale of a living robot’s quest for redemption, identity, and survival despite destructive enemies―and allies.
In a society that has yet to accept the idea of infusing metal with a life of its own, Phalanx, a bioroid or “living robot,” is created as a scientific achievement. Unable to construct for himself the “human” identity he desires, Phalanx strives instead to win his creator’s approval—at any cost. Invictus chronicles the highly charged journey Phalanx is forced to undertake in order to reclaim and redeem himself from the external forces that would control him.


About the Author
Vyshali Manivannan attends Dartmouth College, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English. The daughter of a Physics professor, Vyshali decided to become a writer at age eleven. She wrote and completed Invictus by age fifteen, when she won a Pearl Street Publishing Writing Fellowship.

“Since the completion of Invictus, Vyshali notes, “I have drafted the first two novels of a planned trilogy, separate from Invictus.  Because I can’t help multitasking, the third of the trilogy is temporarily on hold and currently I am working on another, separate novel. I am majoring in English and am considering pursuing a career in writing and perhaps in teaching, as well.”

Vyshali Manivannan on Travel and Writing  

Japan

Two summers ago, I spent three months in Japan on a language study sponsored by Dartmouth, and I shared my experiences with two homestay families and roughly fifteen of my classmates. I was doubly foreign—American and Sri Lankan—in a country suspicious of foreigners, but a country that nevertheless welcomed me as a visitor, a student, an observer, and a writer. It was difficult to establish a niche for myself in Japanese society, but I loved the country itself: its punctual transportation, the rush of suited men and women through its train stations and its streets, the press of people on Tokyo’s Yamanote train at seven-thirty in the morning. Tokyo became for me a home, a place to watch businessmen as they jostled for seats on trains or strode through the dripping summer heat armed with three layers of clothing as a guard against evidencing sweat. I am in love with big cities and with their people, and Tokyo is the epitome of that.

Sri Lanka

The following winter, I traveled with my family to Sri Lanka, the homeland of my ancestors, for the first time. We drove to Batticaloa in the half-light of a waning moon and a handful of stars, surrounded by a natal presence of language that never before existed for me outside my home. The roads were without demarcation; cars and motorcycles and bicycles (often with two clutching at a seat and maybe a third upon the handlebars) raced in all directions, claiming all parts of a no-lane road. There was the quick sudden illumination of six large grayish bodies, trunks half-lifted quizzically, eyes ghostly pale in the peripheral flash of headlamps. I spent a month in Batticaloa among relatives whom I had never seen before, and the entire trip was like that: swift realizations and illuminations, as vast as elephants on the side of the road. My heritage is something I now recognize and accept. Formerly this was not always the case.

Italy

Italy’s air was crisp when I flew into Rome last year. The houses were mud-pink or white, the green palm trees a gentle contrast against the blue sky. Landing in the airport, I caught a glimpse of a stripped sea like a block of cerulean without sand or skyline to ground it. I visited the tourist attractions of Rome, Florence, and Venice. Italy’s art snatched my breath and left my fingers weak for inspiration and wanting ability. There is nothing more powerful than witnessing the grand masters; there is nothing more insidious than admiring the work of the masters and comparing it to your own. I discovered I am also in love with smaller cities, artistic hubs throbbing with life from a variety of countries. Florence claimed me for its own, and the waters of Venice reflected sun and gondoliers’ songs, hypnotic in the fishy air.

France

   I visited Paris after Italy and was compelled to love its people. It was the city that, for years, I had idealized as a center of art and sophistication, where authors would sit street-side in cafes, cradling notebooks in their laps, sipping espresso, observing the tides of life around them. The city did not disappoint me. It was there that I felt completely at ease as a writer for the first time. I was the recipient of more than a few knowing smiles. The waitresses did not hurry me. I suspected that others of my kind frequented cafes like this, and the thought was encouraging. Life seemed less lonely, in Paris .

Ireland  

  I spent the last three months on a Dartmouth foreign study program, studying English literature in Ireland. I took courses at Trinity College in Dublin and shared a house on the outskirts of the city with four other Dartmouth students. After having experienced cities like Rome, Florence, and Paris, though, Dublin was slightly disappointing. I had expected a city; I discovered a large town. Still, I enjoyed it thoroughly and my experience was a rewarding one. Dublin was dirty, crowded, filled with jovial faces and bodies draped in sweaters and coats and hurrying to offices and shopping malls. The winter season was marked with spiking rain and sharp, biting winds. The ongoing sense of independence and the slow pace of classes left me plenty of time to dedicate to my own projects and to exploring the countryside. Ireland’s countryside was beautiful, deeply green and fresh, and the Irish people were extremely friendly and helpful. There was an instant sense of belonging as soon as I stepped onto Irish soil. 

Future Plans

Studying and living abroad have helped me develop as a person and have also honed my skills and discipline as a writer. My latest adventure involves traveling on a grant from Dartmouth to write a historical fiction story based in my ancestral home of Sri Lanka.


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