A COMPARITIVE STUDY ON THE GRUESOME ROLE OF ETHNIC CONFLICT IN SHYAM SELVADURAI’S FUNNY BOY AND HUNGRY GHOSTS

Abstract

The novels of Shyam Selvadurai portray the harsh and cruel realities of life with a blend of fictional element. Selvadurai was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka to a Sinhalese mother and a Tamil father. Being half-Tamil, his family was persecuted by the Tamils, during the ethnic riots in 1983; subsequently his family migrated to Canada. Therefore, most of his works are based on the theme of ethnic conflict and its disastrous and adverse effect. Some of the recurrent themes in his works are ethnic violence, loss of identity, interstitial position, sexuality and mental trauma.