Items related to Funny Boy: A Novel in Six Stories
'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
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"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)
From the Back Cover:
"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)
Arjie is "funny."
The second son of a privileged family in Sri Lanka, he prefers staging make-believe wedding pageants with his female cousins to batting balls with the other boys. When his parents discover his innocent pastime, Arjie is forced to abandon his idyllic childhood games and adopt the rigid rules of an adult world. Bewildered by his incipient sexual awakening, mortified by the bloody Tamil-Sinhalese conflicts that threaten to tear apart his homeland, Arjie painfully grows toward manhood and an understanding of his own "different" identity.
Refreshing, raw, and poignant, Funny Boy is an exquisitely written, compassionate tale of a boy's coming-of-age that quietly confounds expectations of love, family, and country as it delivers the powerful message of staying true to one's self no matter the obstacles.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherVintage
- Publication date1995
- ISBN 10 0099459213
- ISBN 13 9780099459217
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages320
- Rating
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