‘The Bonsoir Diaries’ now as audio book

‘The Bonsoir Diaries’ by Kumar de Silva gets a new lease of life and takes on a new persona as an audio book on Wednesday 6 July. 

Launched as part of the current French Spring Festival presented by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the network of the Alliance Francaise in Sri Lanka, the app is produced by Lisn, Sri Lanka’s first-ever audio book company (http://lisn.audio/).

The book is read by its author and will be available on all android and iOS devices by night on Wednesday 6 July. This is possibly among the very first English books by a Sri Lankan author to be launched as an audio book.

 Un-edited and un-plugged, ‘The Bonsoir Diaries’, is a cocktail of chapters, bursting at its seams with anecdotes, pithy asides, a string of faux-pas, tit-bits from behind-the-scenes, drizzled with nostalgia, and, reveals everything you never saw on your favourite television show … from the 80s ... through the 90s ... into 2000.  

“I’m terribly excited about this launch. It takes the story of Bonsoir to the next level, especially in the sad and regrettable absence of the program’s physical archives. My thanks to Lisn for selecting this book and taking it to a larger readership of Bonsoir’s former viewers and fans, not only in Sri Lanka but also over the world,” de Silva said. 

“We are extremely proud and happy to offer The Bonsoir Diaries as an audio book through the Lisn platform. It would be a great opportunity for all the fans of the show who grew up watching Bonsoir program to relive the past through the author’s own voice,” said Shanaka Mendis of the Lisn Team.

“A few days ago, arriving at the Alliance Française de Kotte, I met a policeman, a French book under his arm, and the only thing he said to me, with in a hearty smile, was a thunderous ‘Bonsoir!’ (‘Good Evening’ in French) although it was still 9 a.m. I immediately thought of ‘Bonsoir’ the television show. It’s amazing after so many, many years, how everyone remembers that particular word of greeting. Thank you, Kumar, Yasmin and the entire Bonsoir team,” says Alexandre Martinez, the General Delegate of the Alliance Francaise network in Sri Lanka.

The Bonsoir French Television Program presented by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka enthralled local television audiences since July 1985. It ran for 25 years and finally closed down in December 2010, leaving an indelible memory with the thousands who grew up with it.

Three years after Bonsoir’s demise came ‘The Bonsoir Diaries’ by Kumar de Silva, one of its piowneers, who, together with his colleagues created magic on the little screen during those early days of television. Three years down the line, with the hard copies almost totally sold out, comes The Bonsoir Diaries as an audio book, which takes the experience to the next level.

Lisn is Sri Lanka’s first mobile audio book company that is solely focused on delivering Sri Lankan literature in the audio format. Through Lisn, you can now enjoy timeless Sri Lankan classics like Martin Wickramasinghe’s ‘Gamperaliya’, at your own convenience at any time and at any place. All you have to do is download the free app from the Google Play Store, choose a book, download it and start listening. It’s that simple.  

Kumar de Silva (www.kumardesilva.com) has been decorated ‘Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters’ by the Government of France in recognition of his more than quarter century contribution to the propagation of the French language and culture in Sri Lanka.

Situated at 11, Keppetipola Mawatha in Colombo 05, the Alliance Française de KOTTE is France’s only such official French language and cultural centre in the Colombo City. 

The Alliance Française de Kotte is fully affiliated to the Fondation Alliance Française in Paris and enjoys the total patronage of the Government of France and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka. There are no other branches of the Alliance Francaise in Colombo City.