Funny Boy (Harvest Book) [Paperback]

Shyam Selvadurai (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 1997 | Series: Harvest Book

“A marvelous first novel, about growing up gay in Sri Lanka...from a brilliant new writer whose next book cannot arrive here quickly enough” (Kirkus Reviews).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Sri Lanka, this poignant coming-of-age novel charts a boy's loss of innocence as he grapples with family conflict, political realities and his homosexuality. At seven, narrator Arjun Chelvaratnam hates sports and enjoys wearing his aunt's jewelry and playing the role of bride in imaginary weddings; yet his playmates' taunts of "girlie-boy" and "faggot" don't seem all that different from the monickers that attach to other children (e.g., "fatty-boom-boom" and "Diggy-Nose"). But when Arjun enters his teens, his worried father, a wealthy hotelier, sends him to a strict private academy, hoping it will force his son "to become a man." Instead, Arjun, rebelling against a sadistic principal, strikes up an intense friendship with a fellow renegade pupil, Shehan, who is rumored to be gay. After their first sexual encounter. Arjun's immediate feelings are anger and guilt, but he gradually comes to accept his sexuality and his love for Shehan. The story is shot through with the tensions and bloody violence between Sri Lanka's Buddhist Sinhalese majority and its Hindu Tamil minority. In loving Shehan, a Sinhalese, Arjun, who is Tamil, breaks two taboos. Retribution follows, and in 1983 Arjun and his family migrate to Canada as penniless refugees. With deft humor and a keen eye, Selvadurai, who was born in Sri Lanka and now lives in Toronto, captures his protagonist's difficult passage into his own identity-of which his homosexuality is just one component. And it is with deep, wistful feeling that he ties that story to larger themes of family and country. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Although this falls into the crowded coming-of-age category, Selvadurai adds the foreign, funny, and unusual in a novel that is as personal as it is political. While growing up in Sri Lanka amid Tamil and Sinhalese conflicts, Arjie, a young boy who likes to play with dolls and girls, observes the social constraints abhorred and perpetuated within his own family and in society at large. Through the details of family life, the intimacies and exchanges, Selvadurai, much like E. M. Forster, reveals truths subtly, with poignancy and grace. Selvadurai has created an endearing character in Arjie, an impish boy who is always in trouble with his rigid parents, yet gains the confidence of "outsiders," those attempting to rebel against foolish social injustices: an aunt almost ready to reject family and social pressure by marrying a Sinhalese man; a schoolboy who is sexually abused by the head prefect and who wants to disclose his own homosexuality. Arjie's witnessing of prejudice and violence shatters his security by degrees, awakening him to the acceptance of his own gay identity and his isolation from both his family and conventional society. Janet St. John --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (June 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015600500X
• ISBN-13: 978-0156005005
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #520,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than it's classification November 16, 2000

By Edward Aycock

Format:Paperback

I am a librarian (at least i think I am, I have the degree but am working here at a dotcom). Anyhow, classifying and cataloguing is a big part of what we do. Unfortunately, when it comes to this novel, people seemd to content to only classify it as gay fiction, and that is where I found it in my local ..., in the gay fiction section. This is such a tragedy to me as this novel is about so much more. In fact, the homosexuality is only a small (albeit important) part of one of the most entertaining and well written "bildungsromans" that I have read in a long while. Selvadurai deftly describes his childhood within a well to do Sri Lankan family, and the devastation that the political upheavals (between the Sinhalese and the Tamils) made on his life. This book describes the horrors visited upon his family (the fate of the grandparents is too horrible to even try and contemplate)while the narrator comes to consciousness in many ways.

I went from being heartily amused in the first chapter about children playing (so, so funny,..and so relatable to anybody who was ever terrorized by a tyrannical fat cousin)to being deeply saddened by the end of the novel, when Sri Lanka is no longer his idyllic home, but rather a place of danger that he and his family must escape. I do not hesitate in giving this novel five stars (despite the fact that it is very episodic) because it is so well written. Selvadurai is a huge talent, and I have Cinnamon Gardens waiting to be read at home.

I urge everybody to read this book, even if you aren't comfortable enough going to the previously unexplored "gay fiction" section. Books like this are an increasingly rare breed, so we may as well search thenm out while we can.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent debut! December 6, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Life as seen through a young boy's eyes, Funny Boy, is narrated with an honesty that brings laughs and alternatively, immense sadness. Arjie, the protagonist in the story, captures the dilemma of growing up, and the struggle at times, to make meaning of the apparent contradictions in life as he comes to terms with understanding the issues of ethnic and sexual identity. Through him we re-discover our own journey through the vicissitudes of life and empathize with the innocence that once surrounded us all before accepting the harsh realities and cruelties of life. Shyam Selvadurai weaves his story through a backdrop of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and a colorful range of characters - the gossipy aunts, the pecking order of cousins, the kindly grand-parents, the strict school principal, and the faceless mob - all of who evoke a range of emotions -smiles, annoyance, warmth and fear - as we nostalgically reminisce about these characters and situations from our own childhood. This is a well written and poignant book. I can't wait to get hold of the author's other book (Cinnamon Gardens).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book May 3, 2005

By fiona

Format:Paperback

I had the honor of going to see Mr. Selvadurai read when he came to my city. I even asked him, "What are the best aspects of being a writer?" He (jokingly, I think) said that it was the working at home part :)

He was a truly entertaining, funny, and delightful man. He put so much expression into his voice when he read from Funny Boy.

Well, I just finished Funny Boy yesterday, and I must say that it was a very refreshing read! I loved all the descriptions of Ammachi and Appachi's house, and all the wonderful, vivid descriptions of Sri Lanka. It really brought me into another world, and I loved it.

Shyam writes simply and beautifully; his writing is not at all confounding and is very accessible. I found I breezed through the book. It was also very compelling.

Arjie's coming-of-age in Funny Boy is one that everyone must read about. His emotions are rare, powerful, and they stick with you. The other characters in the book are also interesting. I especially liked the story about Arjie and Shehan. Another story I liked was one of the first ones - when they played bride-bride, and how they called his cousin, "Her Fatness." I laughed hysterically.

Shyam is an author to look out for. I am looking forward to reading his oher works. He has a talent for writing beautifully and searingly - yet, he never fails to inject a little humour/comic relief to lighten up the mood.

I absolutely loved Funny Boy and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. Kudos to Mr. Selvadurai!