#341 - Reef by Romesh Gunesekera

About this episode

The episode discusses the novel 'Reef' by Romesh Gunesekera, focusing on its themes and historical context.

On this episode, we discuss our January 2026 (and patron's choice) pick, Reef by Romesh Gunesekera, a historical fiction novel about a boy who grows up as the personal cook and housekeeper for a wealthy marine biology enthusiast in Sri Lanka, blissfully and willingly unaware that the world outside the walls of his residence is slowly descending into chaos in the years leading up to Sri Lanka's civil war. Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors Support the Books & Boba Podcast by: Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks Purchasing books at our bookshop Rocking our Books & Boba merch Follow our hosts: Reera Yoo ( @reeraboo ) Marvin Yueh ( @marvinyueh ) Follow us: Instagram Twitter Goodreads Facebook The Books & Boba February 2026 is Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

People in this episode

Hosts: Reera Yoo, Marvin Yueh

Topics covered

• historical fiction
• Sri Lanka
• civil war
• Asian authors

Keywords

• Romesh Gunesekera
• Reef
• marine biology
• chaos
• patron's choice

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Reef

Books & works: Reef, Rocking our Books & Boba, The Books & Boba

Places: Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's

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• #346 - March 2026 Book News · March 17, 2026 · 48 min
• #345 - Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho · March 2, 2026 · 1h 22m