Best Selling 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 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. 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.

Set in 1920s’ Ceylon, during the turbulent closing days of colonial rule, this evocative story of intertwined lives takes us behind the fragrant gardens and polished surfaces of the elite who reside in a wealthy suburb of Colombo to reveal a world of splintered families, conflicted passions, and lives destroyed by class hatred. Annalukshmi, a spirited young schoolteacher, finds herself caught between her family’s pressures to marry and her own desire for a more independent life. Then there is her uncle Balendran, whose comfortable life of privilege is rocked by the arrival of Richard, a lover from his past. Their uneasy reunion re-ignites tensions with Balendran’s powerful father, and threatens all on which Balendran has built his present life. Sensual, perceptive, and wise, Cinnamon Gardens is a novel of exceptional achievement—an exquisite tapestry of lives.

Amrith comes to terms with his sexuality in this sweeping coming-of-age story set against the stormy backdrop of monsoon season in 1980s Sri Lanka. For fans of Call Me By Your Name. Shyam Selvadurai’s brilliant novels, Funny Boy and Cinnamon Gardens, have garnered him international acclaim. In his first young adult novel, now with a new cover, he explores first love with clarity, humor and compassion. The setting is Sri Lanka, 1980, and it is the season of monsoons. Fourteen-year-old Amrith is caught up in the life of the cheerful, well-to-do household in which he is being raised by his vibrant Auntie Bundle and kindly Uncle Lucky. He tries not to think of his life “before,” when his doting mother was still alive. Amrith’s holiday plans seem unpromising: he wants to appear in his school’s production of Othello and he is learning to type at Uncle Lucky’s tropical fish business. Then, like an unexpected monsoon, his cousin arrives from Canada and Amrith’s ordered life is storm-tossed. He finds himself falling in love with the Canadian boy. Othello, with its powerful theme of disastrous jealousy, is the backdrop to the drama in which Amrith finds himself immersed.

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.