Seit wann? » it.With the wind at 125 kph (nearly 80 mph) on

There are at least two types of book readers. (I refer to the people who read books and not those new-fangled devices.) The first type read their books in one go, rarely pausing for rumination, reflection or any handwork with pencils or highlighters. If at all, they reflect on the book after theyre done reading.Then there is the rare type - those who cannot read a book without obliterating it with dog ears, notes in the margin, underlined passages and bookmarks. They convert the reading experience into a process. Perhaps they even stop every few minutes to tweet out interesting lines.If you are one of the latter, you will take days to get through young Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilakas Chinaman. That is even if you really want to finish this brilliant book as quickly as you possibly can. With clever lines on every page, Chinaman is the most tweetable book Ive ever read.In hindsight it appears to me as if Karunatilaka wrote the book with a checklist in his mind: Thats one more page done. Do we have a joke? Check. A brutal dig at cricket? Check. An irreverent swipe at Sri Lankan culture? Check.A superb work of fiction blended with non-fiction that makes you sit up night after night reading it? Double check.Chinaman is, mostly, the story of a Sri Lankan journalists hunt for a long-forgotten, and fictional, Sri Lankan cricket player called Pradeep Mathew. Mathew has a brief, meteoric cricketing career in the late 80s and early 90s that sees him achieve superhuman bowling records. But he vanishes as quickly as he appeared.As the curious, and increasingly obsessive, journalist, Karunasena, begins to peel back the layers of Mathews life he realises something is amiss. Mathew has vanished not just from the cricketing scene, it appears he has ceased to exist. His existence has even been expunged from the record books. And there is something disturbingly Orwellian about it all.Yet Karunatilakas book is equally about Karunasena. I wish I knew more about the author to see how self-referential this character is. Or maybe they just share Karunas. But the character of the 64-year old journalist is a wonderful device to place the topic of Sri Lankan cricket within the larger themes provided by Sri Lankan society and history.So on the one hand there is the obsessed, alcoholic journalist, well into the twilight of his career, going in search of a human mirage. But on the other there is the very real world that this journalist occupies. One of his friends is a diplomat who may have an ugly secret that involves little boys. Yet another is a member of Sri Lankas Burgher minority, who is as obsessed with cricket as Karunasena is. And somewhere in the final third of the book a bomb explodes at a train station. It happens casually, the death toll described as if in an afterthought.Most of all Chinaman is a book about cricket. Karunatilaka has crafted a thinly veiled version of modern cricket, complete with reviled commentators, horny cricketers, loose women and big, bad money.Did I say the veil was thin? I meant to say it is almost transparent. One of the books minor characters is the Turbanned Indian Commentator. Mentioned frequently enough so that after a while he is just referred to as TIC. Earlier in the book there is a beefy English cricketer, whose idea for a documentary is what really kicks off the hunt for Pradeep Mathew. His name is, but of course, Tony Botham.Karunatilaka skewers cricketers old, new, good and bad, all in style. And with prose that is infectious. Once you get past the first 50 pages, which are the slowest but not by much, the book is - no cliché intended - unputdownable. The mysteries of Pradeep Mathew, combined with the brutal dissection of cricket and the delicious morsels of cricketing trivia come together to form one of the strongest, most immersive plots in a sports novel, or indeed any novel, I have read in a long time.The book is not without its gimmicks. There are a few towards the end that are particularly laboured. And there are a few occasions where the dialogues seem too smart by half. But all good innings have room for a few hoicks over slip. And Chinaman is a Test match-winning innings-at-the-death watch-over-and-over-on-Youtube kind of a book.At least one commentator has called Chinaman the first great Sri Lankan novel. Perhaps it is. It certainly is a superb novel. For all cricket fans, especially those from the subcontinent, it is a compulsory addition to their library.And if you cant stand cricket, this is still a book well worth reading. For sheer scope, ambition and inventiveness. Karunatilaka has smashed this out of the park.Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan Karunatilaka Random House Currently available in Sri Lanka and online. An Indian edition of this book, due out in January 2011, will be available across the subcontinent Vapormax Off White Nere .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Vapormax Bianche Ingrosso .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. http://www.vapormaxscontateoutlet.it/vapormax-bianche-scontate-outlet.html .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Vapormax Nere Scontate . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Nike Vapormax Italia . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. MONT VENTOUX, France -- Chris Froome was allowed to keep the yellow jersey after the Tour de France race jury ruled he lost his bike in unfair circumstances during a wacky conclusion to the 12th stage on Thursday.Ventoux is full of surprises. ... Im very happy with the jurys decision, Froome said.In a complete embarrassment for race organizers on Bastille Day, Richie Porte crashed into a motorbike carrying a TV camera and Froome, who was following right behind his former teammate, also crashed in the final kilometer on the wind-shortened climb to Mont Ventoux.Froome threw his bike aside and began running up the road. He eventually was given a small yellow race assistance bike before his team car was finally able to provide him with a suitable substitute.I told myself, `I dont have a bike and my car is five minutes behind with another bike, its too far away, Im going to run a bit, Froome told French TV.All of Froomes main rivals crossed ahead of him and Froome shook his head in disbelief when he finally reached the finish.As Froome ran through the crowds he attempted to communicate with his team via radio but the crowds prevented the Team Sky car from reaching him.It was a nightmare, Sky sports director Nicolas Portal said. It took up to two minutes for him to get a spare bike but the pedals did not suit him. ... I cant understand how so many people were allowed there. It was mayhem.Froome did not come to the post-stage news conference.Before the crash, Froome dropped most of his rivals apart from Porte and Bauke Mollema, and was likely going to add to his lead as he seeks a third title in four years.Decision by the commissaires panel: Chris Froome and Richie Porte have been given the same (stage) time as Bauke Mollema due to the incident in thhe finale.dddddddddddd Froome retains the yellow jersey, the Tour website said.Froome increased his overall lead to 47 seconds ahead of fellow British rider Adam Yates.Two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana was third, 54 seconds behind, and Mollema moved up to fourth, 56 seconds back.Thomas De Gendt won the stage after getting into an early breakaway and easily sprinting past fellow Belgian Serge Pauwels on the steep slopes of Ventoux.There were too many people in the last kilometer, De Gendt said. There was not even a place for one motorbike. They should do something about it.With the wind at 125 kph (nearly 80 mph) on top of the Giant of Provence, organizers moved the finish line six kilometers (3 1/2 miles) down the road to the Chalet Reynard.It was still a grueling 10-kilometer (six-mile) climb featuring several sections with gradients exceeding 10 percent.The 178-kilometer (111-mile) leg began in Montpellier near the Mediterranean coast, passed by the 15th-century Chateau of Tarascon, and scaled the hilltop village of Gordes.It was De Gendts first career stage win in the Tour. He finished third in the 2012 Giro dItalia.Froome was the stage winner when the Tour previously scaled Ventouxs barren, 1,909-meter (6,263-foot) peak in 2013.Ventoux was also the site of an epic contest between Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani in 2000, and where British rider Tom Simpson died in 1967 from a combination of amphetamines and alcohol.Now, another memorable chapter has been added to Ventoux lore.The races first time trial comes on Friday with a hilly 37.5-kilometer (23-mile) leg from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to La Caverne du Pont-DArc. ' ' '