This debut novel by Sri Lanka native Selvadurai is a beautiful tender story of growing up gay in his war torn nation. The Tamils and the Sinhala were fighting a battle for control of the small nation and young Arjie was fighting a difficult adolescence, that of the sissy boy. Arjie meets racism and homophobia head on by an age most American boys are still drinking milk and cookies at their mother's table. The intermixing of Arjie's personal crises, his large and diverse family and the nation at war bring every dimension into a larger focus. Arjie discovered when he was very young that he didn’t fit in with either the boys or the girls. He didn’t like Cricket and the parents wouldn't let him play bride-bride with the girls. He became friends with his single aunt who had been to America and he become lovers with a boy from school. A fast and wonderful read.
