Most Popular Books by Shyam Selvadurai

In this remarkable debut novel, a boy’s bittersweet passage to maturity and sexual awakening is set against escalating political tensions in Sri Lanka, during the seven years leading up to the 1983 riots. Arjie Chelvaratnam is a Tamil boy growing up in an extended family in Colombo. It is through his eyes that the story unfolds and we meet a delightful, sometimes eccentric cast of characters. Arjie’s journey from the luminous simplicity of childhood days into the more intricately shaded world of adults – with its secrets, its injustices, and its capacity for violence – is a memorable one, as time and time again the true longings of the human heart are held against the way things are.

"A novel of raw human longing. . . . His stripped-down prose focuses on the deeply personal with precision and insight. . . . Selvadurai''s work reminds me that the contemporary novel doesn''t necessarily have to resort to thrills or high jinks in order to find its usefulness. Here, it unforgettably explores the interplay between individual intention and the tragedy of a nation''s history." —The Globe and Mail In Sri Lankan myth, a person who dies may be reborn a "hungry ghost"—a ghost with a large stomach that can never be filled through its tiny mouth—if he has desired too much during his life. It is the duty of the living to free the dead who are doomed to this fate by transferring karma from their own good deeds. In Shyam Selvadurai''s masterful new novel, Shivan, a troubled young man of mixed Tamil and Sinhalese ancestry, is preparing to travel from Toronto, Canada, to the land of his childhood, Sri Lanka, to rescue his ailing grandmother and bring her back to die. But on the eve of his departure—as Shivan meditates on his turbulent past, recalls his gradual discovery of his homosexuality, and wrestles with his complicated relationship with the wily old woman—he discovers just how much his own heart''s desires are entwined with the volatile political, racial, and sexual mix of Sri Lanka''s past and present. In the end, Shivan must decide: will he rescue his grandmother, or join her? The Hungry Ghosts is an unconventional exploration of the immigrant experience; a tale of family ties and the long reach of the past; and a heartwrenching look at how racial, political, and sexual differences can tear apart a country, a family, and a human being.

A Guardian Summer Book Pick • A CBC Best Canadian Fiction Book of The Year • A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year The breathtaking reimagining of ancient India through the extraordinary life of Yasodhara, the woman who married the Buddha—from the bestselling, award-winning author of Funny Boy and The Hungry Ghosts. WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR In this sweeping tale, Shyam Selvadurai introduces us to Siddhartha Gautama—who will later become “the enlightened one,” or the Buddha—a bright and politically astute young man settling into his upper-caste life as a newlywed to Yasodhara, a woman of great intelligence and spirit. From the couple’s early love and life together, and the anguished turmoil that descends upon them as Siddhartha’s spiritual calling takes over, 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? A vivid portrait of a captivating 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 a thrilling feat of literary imagination.

He Sank Silently Under&He Could Make Out Her Legs. He Swam Stealthily Towards Her. When He Was Close, He Reached For Her Legs. At His Touch, She Kicked Out&But He Was Too Quick For Her. It Is 1980 And The Monsoon Season In Sri Lanka. Fourteen-Year-Old Amrith Faces An Uneventful Summer In The Cheerful, Well-To-Do Household In Which He Is Being Raised By His Vibrant Aunty Bundle And Kindly Uncle Lucky. He Tries Not To Think Of His Life Before, When His Loving Mother Was Still Alive. Amrith S Holiday Plans Seem Unpromising Until, Like An Unexpected Shower, His Cousin Arrives From Canada. Amrith S Ordered Life Becomes Storm-Tossed As He Falls In Love With The Boy. Shakespeare S Othello, With Its Powerful Theme Of Disastrous Jealousy, Is The Backdrop To The Drama In Which Amrith Finds Himself Immersed. A Coming Of Age Book For Mature Readers, Swimming In The Monsoon Sea Explores First Love In All Its Complexity And Turmoil.

Lush And Beautiful, Cinnamon Gardens Is A Story Of Intertwined Lives In The Gracious World Of Ceylon In The 1920S In A Novel Of Exceptional Achievement, Shyam Selvadurai Evokes The Life Of The Upper Classes Of Colombo''S Wealthy Suburb, Cinnamon Gardens, At A Time When The Power Of Colonial Rule In The Country Is Shifting. It Tells The Story Of Annalukshmi, A Young Schoolteacher, Who Finds Herself Caught Between Her Family''S Pressures To Marry And Her Own Desire For A More Independent Life; A Life She Sees Reflected In Her Mentor, Miss Lawton, A Progressive Headmistress. She Comes To Realize That This Life Is Fraught With Complexities And Danger And With Rules That Cannot Be Broken. There Is Also Balendran, The Obedient Son Of A Domineering Patriarch, Whose Story Is Brilliantly Counterpointed With That Of His Niece Annalukshmi''S. He Leads A Comfortable Existence With His Wife Sonia Till He Learns That Richard Howland Is To Arrive In Colombo. This Uneasy Reunion With A Lover From The Past Throws Balendran Into Turmoil And Re-Ignites Tensions With His Father. As The Narrative Unfolds And Deepens A Varied Cast Of Characters Emerge, Including Louisa, Annalukshmi''S Mother Who, In The Face Of A Failed Marriage, Struggles To Raise Her Daughters Alone; Arul, Balendran''S Exiled Brother; And The Delightfully High-Strung And Meddlesome Philomena Barnett. Selvadurai''S Sensual Descriptions And Keen Insights Take Us Behind The Fragrant Gardens And Polished Surfaces To Reveal A World Of Splintered Families, Conflicted Passions And Lives Destroyed By Class Hatred. With This Novel, The Author Confirms His Earlier Promise As One Of Sri Lanka''S Most Distinctive And Talented New Voices.

Recently, South Asian writers such as Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje, Rohinton Mistry, Bharati Mukherjee, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Monica Ali have been dominating the world’s literary scene, winning prestigious prizes, and appearing on numerous bestseller lists, and being hailed by critics and readers worldwide. Yet never before has their work appeared together in an anthology. Now, for the first time, the internationally heralded writer Shyam Selvadurai has collected the very best of South Asian short fiction in Story-Wallah!, a remarkable anthology showcasing 26 beautifully written stories whose memorable characters will remain with the reader long after they have closed the pages of this book. A "wallah" is a hawker or merchant. In Story-Wallah! some of the world’s best fiction writers hawk their wares from different parts of the South Asian diaspora - Canada, the United States, Britain, Guyana, Trinidad, Malaysia, Tanzania, Fiji - creating a virtual map of the world with their tales. There is an eclectic quality to the way the stories jostle up against each other: life on a sugar plantation in Trinidad next to the story of a childhood in rural 1930’s Australia. A Christmas in Fiji next to the attempts by an Indian family in South Africa to arrange a marriage for their rebellious daughter. A honeymoon in lush Sri Lanka next to the trials of a Bangladeshi refugee in England. The result is a marvelous cacophony, like early morning at a South Asian bazaar. Story-Wallah! is essential reading for anyone with an interest in South Asian writers and the dynamic, important tales they have to tell.

Arjie est le deuxième fils d''une famille de bourgeois tamouls installée à Colombo. Peu à peu, alors que s''accentuent les tensions politiques et raciales qui divisent la société sri lankaise, Arjie passe de la transparente candeur de l''enfance aux clairvoyances de l''adolescence. Parce qu''il est différent des autres - trop délicat, il ne se plaît que dans la compagnie de ses petites cousines, de sa mère et de ses tantes-, Arjie est le confident discret des adultes. Peu à peu, alors que, en tombant amoureux d''un garçon de son âge, il se réconcilie avec sa véritable nature, il découvre les compromissions, les injustices et les haines qui précipiteront son pays dans la guerre civile. Avec deux romans - Drôle de garçon et Jardins de cannelle -, Shyam Selvadurai s''est imposé comme l''un de ces écrivains de l''exil qui donne à la littérature indienne ses lettres de noblesse.

Colombo, île de Ceylan, 1927. Au cœur des luxuriantes villas des Jardins de Cannelle, quartier de la bourgeoisie sri lankaise, souffle le vent de l''émancipation. A l''instar de ses amies européennes, Annalukshmi travaille, roule à bicyclette, discute de sujets réservés aux hommes et rêve à un amour qui ne serait pas le fruit d''une union arrangée. Indépendante, elle étouffe dans le carcan de conventions qui enserre les jeunes femmes de sa condition. Fils d''un potentat de la politique locale, son oncle Balendran, lui, s''est soumis à l''autorité de son père en renonçant à la grande passion de sa vie - pour un homme. Mari aimant, pivot des affaires familiales, il semble avoir oublié... La brusque résurgence de son passé va bouleverser ce fragile équilibre. Annalukshmi et Balendran sauront-ils, et leur pays avec eux, conquérir les promesses de la liberté ? Des mille et un détails qui tissent une histoire individuelle, Shyam Selvadurai fait une fresque où se laisse entrevoir la destinée d''un peuple. Son écriture sensible, en faisant revivre les parfums et les tensions de l''Orient des années 30, l''impose comme l''un de ces écrivains de l''exil qui donnent à la littérature indienne ses lettres de noblesse.