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Socialist Review Index (1993–1996) | Socialist Review 182 Contents
From Socialist Review, No. 182, January 1995.
Copyright © Socialist Review.
Copied with thanks from the Socialist Review Archive.
Marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.
Funny Boy
Shyam Selvadurai
Jonathan Cape £12.99
This is the first novel of a Sri Lankan author, now based in Canada following the 1983 riot. The story is relayed through the eyes of Arje, a seven-year-old who is part of one big, wealthy and seemingly happy Tamil family. Arje wishes away time in anticipation of ‘spend the days’ – a day when the entire family of cousins, aunts and uncles spend the whole day at the home of his grandparents.
Arje looks forward to this as it is the time when rather than play cricket with the boys he chooses to dress up in full bridal regalia and play ‘the bride game’. To Arje and his cousins, this is a harmless and innocent game and they are shocked at the reaction of horror from the rest of the family.
The story follows a series of events which have a dramatic impact on Arje in terms of shaping his view of life. He develops a special relationship with an aunt on her return from America. Radha Aunty not only allows but encourages him to dress up and play with makeup. Arje is delighted when he is allowed to take part in the production of The King and I alongside Radha Aunty.
It is through the play that Radha Aunty meets and falls in love with Amil, a Sinhalese. Arje finds out about the struggles between the Tamils and the Sinhalese by accident.
Arje is exposed to racism when Jegan, the son of his father’s best friend, comes to work for the family. Jegan had at one point fought for the Tamil Tigers, and as the political situation intensifies, the family is forced to sack him.
The book tackles issues of racism and sexuality in a refreshing way. The eyes of an innocent and naive child are used to show how simple and ideal the world could be.
Arje is first awakened to racism when he is told that the hero and heroine do not live happily ever after in the play The King and I because they are of separate races. Although he remains unsatisfied with this explanation he begins to see it for himself when his aunt is forbidden to talk to a Sinhalese.
Through snatches of overheard conversations about the historical and ongoing struggle between the Sinhalese and the Tamils, Arje becomes increasingly aware of life around him and for the first time begins to notice the deliberate separation of the two at school.
Seeing his aunt being forced into marriage makes him face the harsh realities of life as he slowly loses sight of his ideal that if two people loved each other then all would be well. He gains a growing awareness that ‘the world ... where good was rewarded and evil punished seemed suddenly false to me.’
The book realistically deals with Arje’s conflicting feeling of confusion and disgust and at the same time love and desire as he has his first sexual relationship with a boy at his school. Arje’s idea of love is destroyed as he realises that this is something which his family will not understand and cannot be a part of.
The book’s portrayal of Arje’s parents is also excellent. The mother increasingly gathers strength throughout the book as she attempts to come to terms with living under a corrupt and repressive regime. The book shows her sympathies shifting towards the Tamil Tigers. One incident shows her defiantly scrubbing out racist abuse when everyone else is afraid to do so. In contrast, the father remains determined to maintain the status quo and does not want to rock the boat. He leaves racism unchallenged as he sees this as the only way to maintain his position as a wealthy businessman, ‘As a Tamil, you soon learn how to play the game.’
This book is beautifully written and is accessible to those with no knowledge of the civil war in Sri Lanka. The story is not unique to Sri Lanka, this could be any young boy or girl trying to come to terms with and find explanations for a chaotic world where things do not make sense and injustices prevail.
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