Published: 19 May 2020
ISBN: 9781529110746
Imprint: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
RRP: $19.99

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Funny Boy

A Novel in Six Stories

Shyam Selvadurai

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'An extraordinarily powerful, deeply moving novel' Amitav Ghosh

In the world of his large family – affluent Tamils living in Colombo – Arjie is an oddity, a 'funny boy' who prefers dressing as a girl to playing cricket with his brother.

But as Arjie comes to terms with his own homo-sexuality and with the racism of the society in which he lives, Sri Lanka is plunged into civil war as fighting between the army and the Tamil Tigers gradually begins to encroach on the family's comfortable life. Sporadic acts of violence flare into full scale riots and lead, ultimately, to tragedy.

Written in clear, simple prose, Shyam Selvadurai's first novel is masterly in its mingling of the personal and political.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY NEEL MUKHERJEE

Published: 19 May 2020
ISBN: 9781529110746
Imprint: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
RRP: $19.99

Categories:

Share…

About the author

Shyam Selvadurai

Shyam Selvadurai was born in 1965 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He left Sri Lanka after the 1983 riots on Colombo and settled with his family in Canada. He lives in Toronto and is the author of Funny Boy (1994), Cinnamon Gardens (1998) and Swimming in the Monsoon Sea (2005).

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Praise for Funny Boy

A quiet masterpiece
Gay Times

At first sight an innocently observed portrait of Tamil family life in seventies Sri Lanka, it metamorphosed into a lucid, serious piece of writing... Selvadurai's world is delightful, frightening, important and he describes it with touching clarity... His novel is a graceful and intelligent account of the random nature of growing up
Observer

Exquisitely written...superb
Independent

The unadorned and simple prose has elegance and great sophistication. Moreover, Selvadurai has a genius for touching a nerve with a feather-light touch... A powerful and beautifully written novel
Literary Review