The uncanny nature of the past, returning repeatedly, both familiar and strange, permeates the narrative present. Anil obsessively revisits her past, in the form of childhood memories and recent encounters with lovers and friends. Sarath, Gamini, and Ananda are all, in similar ways, trapped by past events, the death of loved ones and the never-ending atrocities of war. Even the central business of the novel, the mystery of Sailor’s bones, is steeped in the murky waters of the past, and Sarath’s profession as an archeologist directly concerns itself with such mysteries and discoveries. Further, the specters of colonialism and nationalism, two sides of a single coin, hover over everything.

Throughout the novel, as the characters get to know and understand one another, they reminisce about past events and share personal memories. These reminiscences illustrate the similar ways in which each of the characters is haunted by their own unresolved pasts. Sarath and Gamini, for example, are both haunted by the death of Sarath’s wife, Ravina, choosing to pour their emotional efforts into their work instead. Anil, similarly unmoored by her separation from her birthplace, also derives great meaning and purpose from her work. Her relationship with Cullis Wright, a married photojournalist, represents her inability to commit and her tendency to alienate herself from others.