Sri Lanka, 1976–1983.
Arjie is a boy growing up in a large, privileged Tamil family in Colombo. He prefers participating in mock weddings with his cousins to playing with the other boys. When his parents discover his innocent pastime, Arjie is forced to abandon his idyllic childhood games and adopt the rigid rules of the adult world. The results, predictably, are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always pointless.
Through six stories set at different points in his transition from childhood to adolescence, he discovers his own identity and sexuality in a society marked by deeply ingrained traditions and prejudices. His personal journey unfolds alongside the escalating social tensions and violence between the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese, in a country inexorably heading toward a bloody civil war that will last twenty-five years.
The novel explores themes suc...read more
