Summary
Funny boy is a contemporary fictional story written by Shyam Selvadurai, a Canadian resident who was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The novel was initially published in 1994 by McClelland & Stewart and became a national bestseller having won the W.H Smith Books award in Canada, the Lambda literally award in the United States and was also named A Notable Book by The American Library Association (Selvadurai, 1997).
The story is set in Sri Lanka, a country torn by war, where the author presents the coming of age of Arjie Chelvarathan, a Tamil boy growing up in an extended family in Colombo. Arjie’s life journey from the luminous simplicity of childhood to a more intricately shaded world of adults that is filled with challenges presents readers with various themes facing contemporary society. The novel is split into six chapters with the first five chapters describing Arjie’s relationships with various characters through which he understands his sexuality, the ethnic problem between the Tamil and Sinhalese people, and the political oppression in the country.
Funny boy highlights the ethnic conflict prevalent in the society through the return of Radha aunty with whom Arjie develops a fond relationship. Her reluctance to honor the engagement of a fellow Tamil Rajan Nagendra and her secret relationship with a Sinhalese is met by great family opposition which shows the extent to which ethnic differences are entrenched in the social institutions. Radha aunty’s violent experience on her return from Jaffna influences her decision to accept the engagement by Rajan. Through these relationships, the reader understands the reasons why conflict persists in society through the writer’s pessimism on ethnic conflict resolution in Sri Lanka.
In the novel, oppression of the masses is emphasized through the arrival of Uncle Daryl from Australia to investigate government torture in Sri Lanka. The uncle pays constant visits to Arjie and his mother in the countryside. Unfortunately, Daryl’s uncle dies in Jaffina under uncertain circumstances. Attempts to pursue justice for Daryl’s uncle’s death bear no fruits. Indeed, a civil rights lawyer discourages Amma claiming that the situation in the country demanded people to be passive in the evils that were taking place. Consequently, political injustices continue to dominate society with every effort aimed at freeing the masses being quickly eliminated.
Arjie’s adulthood is characterized by controversy as his sexuality develops. The conflict between his sexuality and family expectations presents him with a dilemma over his own identity. Arjie has his first homosexual feelings towards Jegan who is employed at his family business. Just like the tension between Tamil and Sinhalese, the boy’s sexuality is presented as a major issue of concern which sees Arjie transferred to another school by his father in an attempt to ‘force him to become a man’ (Selvadurai, 1997 p 205). It is in this school that Arjie explores his sexuality with the help of his gay companion Shehan and amidst feelings of denial and loss of self-esteem, Arjie comes into terms with his sexuality.
Conclusion
The writer is pessimistic about the situation in Sri Lanka which is portrayed in the life and experiences of Arjie, a member of the Tamil ethnic group. Through the protagonist, he unveils the political unrest and widespread corruption in the political system as well as the violence between the two ethnic groups. Indeed, racial hatred is so deeply entrenched in society that not even love can be overcome.
Reference
Selvadurai, S. (1997). Funny Boy. Ontario: McClelland & Stewart.