Funny Boy
A Novel in Six Stories
Published on 5. October 1995
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-09-945921-7 (ISBN)
Description
'A quiet masterpiece' Gay Times
In the world of his large family - affluent Tamils living in Colombo, Sri Lanka - 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.
'A graceful and intelligent account of the random nature of growing up' Observer
In the world of his large family - affluent Tamils living in Colombo, Sri Lanka - 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.
'A graceful and intelligent account of the random nature of growing up' Observer
Reviews / Votes
Exquisitely written...superb * Independent * 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 * A quiet masterpiece * Gay Times * 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 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
224 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-945921-7 (9780099459217)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2008
1st Edition
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Shyam Selvadurai was born in 1965 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He left Sri Lanka after the 1983 riots in Colombo and settled with his family in Canada. He lives in Toronto.