Funny Boy

Literature & Fiction

Shyam; Selvadurai

Genre Fiction

Vintage Books

Set among the upper classes in the gracious, repressive and complex world of 1920s Ceylon (Sri Lanka), this evocative novel tells the story of two people who must determine if it is possible to pursue personal happiness without compromising the happiness of others. A young teacher, Annalukshmi, whose splintered family attempts to arrange an appropriate marriage for her, must decide whether the independence she craves will doom her to a life without love and companionship. It is also the story of Balendran who, respectably married, must suppress-or confront-the secret desires for men that threaten to throw his life into chaos. With sensuous atmosphere and vivid prose, this masterfully plotted novel re-creates a world where a beautiful veneer of fragrant gardens and manners hides social, personal, and political issues still relevant today.

Cinnamon Gardens

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

South Asia Books

Shyam selvadurai pieces together the best of sri lankan poetry and fiction in this anthology from the sinhala and tamil writers of the 1950s to diasporic writers of today, from stories of love and longing to those of brutality and death, this masterfully constructed anthology will give you a rich sense sri lanka's history, its people and the stories they have to tell

Many Roads Through Paradise: An Anthology Of Sri Lankan Literature (translation)

History & Criticism

Penguin books.India

Mansions of the Moon

Mansions Of The Moon

Penguin

Moving between Toronto and war-torn Sri Lanka of the 1980s and 90s, The Hungry Ghosts tells an intense and absorbing story of one man s restless search for redemption. Shivan Rassiah, gay and in his early thirties, prepares to return from Canada to his dying grandmother in Sri Lanka. Much is riding on this trip for Shivan, who hopes it will bring him the renewal he so desperately needs. Yet, as the night before he leaves unfolds, Shivan is haunted by the memories of his complicated relationship with his grandmother through his early years, the tragic outcome of a visit he paid her some years after migrating to Canada, and the Buddhist tales she told him with their themes of destiny and karma, which insist there is no escape from acts committed. Engulfed by his memories and mistakes, Shivan begins to doubt that the redemption he seeks might indeed be possible. A lush, complex novel of migration, sexuality, family and exile, The Hungry Ghosts brings vividly to life the smell, colours, landscape, manners and customs of the author s native Sri Lanka and his adopted homeland Canada.

The Hungry Ghosts

Review\n"Selvadurai's tale of emotionally torn star-crossed lovers--and the aftermath of their parting--is subtle, absorbing and thoroughly modern." --Maclean's 
"Mansions of the Moon tells a seminal story from a new point of view. . . . Selvadurai creates immersive, visceral worlds you can almost reach out and feel . . . employ[ing] traditional myths and spiritual tales to create work that is unmistakably his own." --Toronto Star\n"Captivating. . . . Although [Yasodhara] is 'submerged by change, swept away and drowned in it' due to the decisions the men in her life make, here, in these pages, we see her struggle, hear her fears, and understand her pain. We know what's coming next and want to shelter her from the blow--a testament to Selvadurai's extraordinary empathy and storytelling. Narrated using many Pali words, this is an epic story of Yasodhara's journey to find her own path forward."--Quill & Quire (starred review)\nFrom the bestselling, award-winning author of Funny Boy and The Hungry Ghosts comes a breathtaking reimagining of ancient India through the extraordinary life of Yasodhara, the woman who married the Buddha. 
In this sweeping tale, at once epic and intimate, Shyam Selvadurai introduces us to Siddhartha Gautama--who will later become "the enlightened one," or the Buddha--an unusually bright and politically astute young man settling into his upper-caste life as a newlywed to Yasodhara, a woman of great intelligence and spirit. Mansions of the Moon traces the couple's early love and life together, and then the anguished turmoil that descends upon them both as Siddhartha's spiritual calling takes over and the marriage partnership slowly, inexorably crumbles. Eventually, Yasodhara is forced to ask what kind of life a woman can lead in ancient India if her husband abandons her--even a well-born woman such as herself. And is there a path she, too, might take towards enlightenment? 
Award-winning writer Shyam Selvadurai examines these questions with empathy and insight, creating a vivid portrait of a fascinating time and place, the intricate web of power, family and relationships that surround a singular marriage, and the remarkable woman who until now has remained a little-understood shadow in the historical record. Mansions of the Moon is an immersive, lively and thrilling feat of literary imagination.

Literary

Knopf Canada

Funny Boy: Penguin Modern Classics Edition

MCCLELLAND STEWART

Contemporary

In Buddhist myth, those that have desired too much in life may be reborn as "hungry ghosts" - spirits with a stomach so large they can never be full. Six year-old Shivan is boarded up in his grandmother's mansion in Sri Lanka. While civil unrest brews outside, Shivan is fighting small battles of his own: the matriarch of his mysterious family wants to groom him as heir to her vast and corrupt empire. Shivan stands helpless as she sidelines his mother and sister and evicts vulnerable families from their homes. Unwilling to carry the burden of her expectations, Shivan dreams of escape to the West. Yet ghosts will follow you across continents. As the years pass, and Shivan's sexuality gradually comes to light, events spiral out of control and threaten to separate him from his family once and for all.

Telegram Books

Anchor

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Books by Shyam; Selvadurai