Shyam Selvadurai Bücher

Das koloniale Ceylon der 20er Jahre: Hier wachsen Annalukshmi und ihre beiden Schwestern wohlbehütet und dennoch hin- und hergerissen zwischen alten Traditionen und europäischen Werten auf. Annalukshmi muss sich entscheiden: Soll sie ihrer Familie nachgeben und einen Mann heiraten, den sie nicht liebt, und ein Leben an seiner Seite führen, das sie nicht will, oder kann sie in die Fußstapfen Miss Lawtons treten, ihrer fortschrittlichen und unverheirateten Lehrerin, deren Unabhängigkeit für Annalukshmi ein Vorbild ist? Auch ihr Cousin Balendran ist in einem Dilemma: Nach zwanzig Jahren taucht seine große Liebe Richard in Ceylon auf und bringt sein geregeltes Leben durcheinander. Zerrieben zwischen der wieder aufkeimenden Leidenschaft für Richard und seiner Rolle als treuer Ehemann und gehorsamer Sohn bröckelt das Fundament, auf das Balendran sein Leben gebaut hat.§

Ein eindrucksvoller und bewegender Roman über eine Kindheit und Jugend auf Sri Lanka. „Funny Boy“ beleuchtet die ethnischen und gesellschaftspolitischen Spannungen der 70er Jahre aus der Perspektive des jungen Arjie, der in einer wohlhabenden und weiltläufigen tamilischen Familie heranwächst. Dieser Debütroman berührt durch seine Authentizität, Wärme und Überzeugungskraft.

The collection showcases a diverse array of narratives from prominent South Asian writers, each contributing unique perspectives on identity, culture, and belonging. Spanning various locales within the South Asian diaspora, the stories range from a honeymoon in Sri Lanka to the struggles of a Bangladeshi refugee in England, and the complexities of arranged marriage in India. This anthology creates a vibrant tapestry of experiences, reminiscent of the lively atmosphere of a South Asian bazaar, where each tale offers a glimpse into the multifaceted lives of its characters.

"This stunning portrait of a famous marriage in ancient India tells the story of Yasodhara, wife of the Buddha, as intimately reimagined by the bestselling author of Funny Boy. In this sweeping story, at once epic and startlingly intimate, Shyam Selvadurai introduces us to Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as the Buddha, a promising and politically astute young man settling into his life as a newlywed to Yasodhara, a young woman of great intelligence and spirit. The novel traces their early life together, and then the unthinkable turmoil as Siddhartha's spiritual calling takes over and their partnership slowly, inexorably crumbles. How does a woman live in ancient India if her husband abandons her? Even a well-born woman with a revered husband? And what path might she take towards enlightenment herself? Selvadurai examines these questions with empathy and insight, creating a rich, strikingly relevant portrait of a singular marriage, and of the woman who until now has been a shadow in the historical record. Mansions of the Moon is a literary event, and a remarkable moment in a beloved author's career."--

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.

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.