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Funny Boy
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Funny Boy Paperback - 1997

by Shyam Selvadurai


Summary

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.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. In FUNNY BOY we follow the life of the family through Arjie's eyes, as he comes to terms both with his own homo-sexuality and with the racism of the society in which he lives. In the north of Sri Lanka there is a war going on between the army and the Tamil Tigers, and gradually it 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, Syam Selvadurai's first novel is masterly in its mingling of the personal and political.

From the publisher

Shyam Selvadurai was born in 1965 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He came to Canada with his family at the age of nineteen. He has studied creative writing and theatre, and has a B.F.A. from York University.

Funny Boy, his first novel, was published to immediate acclaim in 1994, was a national bestseller, and won the W. H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award and, in the U.S., The Lambda Literary Award, and was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association. Cinnamon Gardens, his second novel, was shortlisted for the Trillium Award. It has been published in the U.S., the U.K., India, and numerous countries in Europe.

Shyam Selvadurai lives in Toronto.

First line

"Besides Christmas and other festive occasions, spend-the-days were the days most looked forward to by all of us, counsins, aunt, and uncles."

Details

  • Title Funny Boy
  • Author Shyam Selvadurai
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition First Thus
  • Pages 336
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Date 1997
  • ISBN 9780771079511 / 0771079516
  • Weight 0.81 lbs (0.37 kg)
  • Reading level 780
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

“Shyam Selvadurai has brought back from his Sri Lankan childhood a glittering and wise novel. Funny Boy keeps repeating with quiet conviction that the human condition can, in spite of everything, be joyful. You are not alone, it says to the reader I understand you. I was there. I remember.”
–Alberto Manguel

“He spins a subtle web that holds readers captive.…”
Saskatoon StarPhoenix

“A powerful and beautifully written novel.…”
Literary Review (U.K.)

“Lyrical, moving, and deeply perceptive. This isn’t the first coming-of-age story ever written, but I doubt there’s been one quite like it.”
Halifax Chronicle-Herald

About the author

Shyam Selvadurai was born in 1965 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He came to Canada with his family at the age of nineteen. He has studied creative writing and theatre, and has a B.F.A. from York University. Funny Boy, his first novel, was published to immediate acclaim in 1994, was a national bestseller, and won the W. H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award and, in the U.S., The Lambda Literary Award, and was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association. Cinnamon Gardens, his second novel, was shortlisted for the Trillium Award. It has been published in the U.S., the U.K., India, and numerous countries in Europe. Shyam Selvadurai lives in Toronto.
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Funny Boy

Funny Boy

by Selvadurai, Shyam

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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780771079511 / 0771079516
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Funny Boy

Funny Boy

by Selvadurai, Shyam

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Funny Boy
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Funny Boy

by Shyam Selvadurai

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780771079511 / 0771079516
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Funny Boy

Funny Boy

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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McClelland & Stewart, 1997. Paperback. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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Funny Boy

Funny Boy

by Selvadurai, Shyam

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Funny Boy
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Funny Boy

by Shyam Selvadurai

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780771079511 / 0771079516
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Funny Boy
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Funny Boy

by Shyam Selvadurai

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780771079511 / 0771079516
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Funny Boy  - A Novel in Six Stories
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Funny Boy - A Novel in Six Stories

by Shyam Selvadurai

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