Aberrations and Excesses: Sri Lanka Substantiated by the Funny Boy

Abstract

Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy, published in 1994 in Canada, was a remarkably innovatory work that built up a sutriking picture of a nation tom apart by ethnic conflict. In Sri Lanka itself, however, it was the subject of homosexuality that had the greater impact on readers. This article will explore the maimer in which Selvadurai subtly blends the different areas he deals with to produce a work of illuminating political criticism. It will also consider the elements in Sri Lankan society that contributed to selective assessments of the book. My argument will be that, by dwelling on what seem obvious aberrations, Sri Lankans manage to trivialize excesses that spring from familiar patterns of behaviour.