A coming-of-age story revolves around the growth and development of a protagonist, from adolescence to adulthood. There are many themes that distinguish this sort of story but one of them is the theme of exile. Funny Boy is such a…
The last chapter of ‘Funny Boy’ is an epilogue to 1983 ‘Black July’. This can be considered as a deviation of Selvadurai’s narrative style which he has followed so far. This structure keeps the reader’s curiosity, suspense and eagerness to…
Radha Aunty is the youngest sister of Arjie’s father; she is the only open-minded family member, and that is why Arjie loves her the most. Radha Aunty returns from America, and soon falls in love with Anil, who is from…
‘Queer,’ the umbrella term represents the identity of homosexuals. Gay and lesbians are proud enough to say that they belong to queer sexuality. Moreover, it does not fit them into either biological needs or into gender roles. Queer theory differs…
Selvadurai’s debut novel, Funny Boy explores a Sri-Lankan Tamil boy’s life and his transition to adolescence as he comes to terms with his sexual identity. Set against the backdrop of the Sri-Lankan civil war, the book explores themes like homosexuality,…
Funny Boy is a coming-of-age novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian author Shyam Selvadurai. First published by McClelland and Stewart in September 1994, the novel won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction and the Books in Canada First Novel Award. Shyam…