“We must do something,” she said, breaking the silence. “We can’t just sit by and act as if nothing happened.” She looked at me. “But where does one turn when the police and the government are the offenders?”

I would not have bought this novel - or even known that it existed - if it were not for Jack Edwards who recommended it on his YouTube channel. Funny Boy is one of his favourite books.

My e-book version is 180 pages long, so rather short, but the story is packed and feels longer than it actually is (but in a good way). I did not want this novel to end, because it was an amazing.
The plot, the characters, the WRITING!!
Funny Boy is multidimensional and complex and it just feels so real.
It is my first novel from a Sri Lankian author which is also set in this country. Throughout reading Funny Boy I learnt a lot about Sri Lankian history and culture. The novel is set during the 1980s and the ethnic and political conflicts are a huge part of the plot.

Coming-of-age is my favourite literary genre and Funny Boy will definitely make it on the list of the best coming-of-age novels I read so far. I think it is also one of the books I enjoyed the most this year.

If you were powerful like Black Tie or my father you got to decide what was right or wrong. If you where like Shehan or me you had no choice but to follow what they said. But did we always have to obey? Was it not possible for people like Shehan and me to be powerful too?
I thought about this, but no answer presented itself to me.