I read the Sinhala translation of this novel by Sugathapala De Silva.

Funny Boy is the first novel written by the Sri Lankan-Canadian author Shyam Selvadurai. It is a coming-of-age novel, which consists of six linked short stories about a boy coming to age within a wealthy Tamil family in Colombo. The main themes in the story are gender, sexual identity, ethnic identity, growing up amidst Sinhala-Tamil unrest etc. Between the ages of seven and fourteen, he explores his sexual identity, and encounters the Sinhala-Tamil tensions leading up to the1983 riots.

Although many reviewers call this a novel about growing up as a gay in Sri lanka, this book was much more than that for me. “Funny Boy” is an engaging, insightful and emotional story of a boy whose simple, playful life is torn apart by the violence of ethnic conflicts and dawning of the realities of life. It’s a compelling and enlightening read.

I tremendously enjoyed the book and couldn’t put it down until finished. The amazing translation by Sugathapala de Silva also contributed to this. At the end, I had no qualms about giving it 5 stars. Now I want to read other work of the author as well.