Kirjahaku

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Deepa Mehta--coming to Netflix December 10, 2020 An evocative coming-of-age novel about growing up gay in Sri Lanka during the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict--one of the country's most turbulent and deadly periods.Arjie is "funny."The second son of a privileged family in Sri Lanka, he prefers staging make-believe wedding pageants with his female cousins to battling balls with the other boys. When his parents discover his innocent pastime, Arjie is forced to abandon his idyllic childhood games and adopt the rigid rules of an adult world. Bewildered by his incipient sexual awakening, mortified by the bloody Tamil-Sinhalese conflicts that threaten to tear apart his homeland, Arjie painfully grows toward manhood and an understanding of his own "different" identity.Refreshing, raw, and poignant, Funny Boy is an exquisitely written, compassionate tale of a boy's coming-of-age that quietly confounds expectations of love, family, and country as it delivers the powerful message of staying true to one's self no matter the obstacles.

Set among the upper classes in the gracious, repressive world of 1920s Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Cinnamon Gardens tells the brilliantly intertwined stories of two extraordinary characters. Annalukshmi is a strong-willed young woman whose family is intent upon arranging a proper marriage for her, forcing her to question whether the independence she craves will doom her to a life without love and companionship. Her uncle Balendran, respectably married, struggles to suppress his secret desire for men. The sudden arrival of a former lover, however, threatens to destroy his carefully constructed world. Both Annalukshmi and Balendran must determine if it is possible to pursue personal happiness without compromising the happiness of others. And both must draw on hidden reserves to resist the pressures of society and, even more crushing, the expectations they have placed on themselves. This masterfully plotted novel takes us beneath the polished veneer of fragrant gardens and manners to reveal a world of splintered families, forbidden emotions, and lives destroyed by prejudice. With its sensuous atmosphere, richly drawn characters, and astonishing ability to conjure time and place, Cinnamon Gardens is a riveting novel that speaks of the issues readers grapple with today, while evoking the great historical works of fiction they love. Selvadurai's critically acclaimed first novel, Funny Boy, was hailed as "first rate fiction from a brilliant writer whose next book cannot arrive here quickly enough" (Kirkus Reviews). Now, Cinnamon Gardens--an unforgettable tale of history, family, love, and destiny--confirms Selvadurai's promise as one of the most distinctive and talented novelists from a new generation.

'An extraordinarily powerful, deeply moving novel' Amitav GhoshNOW A MAJOR FILM ON NETFLIX 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.But as Arjie comes to terms with his own homo-sexuality and with the racism of the society in which he lives, Sri Lanka is plunged into civil war as fighting between the army and the Tamil Tigers gradually 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, Shyam Selvadurai's first novel is masterly in its mingling of the personal and political.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY NEEL MUKHERJEE

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 escapes to the West. Yet ghosts will follow you across continents. As the years pass, and his sexuality gradually comes to light, events spiral out of control and threaten to separate Shivan from his family once and for all.The Hungry Ghosts is an exquisite tale of differences and how they can tear apart both a country and the heart not just once, but many times, until the ghosts are freed.