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Swimming in the Monsoon Sea

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Coming-of-age novel by Shyam Selvadurai
Swimming in the Monsoon Sea
AuthorShyam Selvadurai
PublisherTundra Books
Publication dateSeptember 13, 2005
Pages224
ISBN0-88776-735-4

Swimming in the Monsoon Sea is a coming-of-age novel written by Shyam Selvadurai set in Sri Lanka in 1980, during the monsoon season. Fourteen-year-old Amrith lives a contented life with his lively Auntie Bundle and gentle Uncle Lucky, avoiding thoughts of his past when his loving mother was still alive. He hopes to spend his vacation performing in his school's production of Othello and is learning to type at Uncle Lucky's tropical fish business. However, his routine is abruptly disrupted when his cousin arrives from Canada, bringing an unexpected whirlwind into his life. Amrith finds himself falling in love with the Canadian boy, paralleling the intense themes of jealousy in Othello, which serve as a backdrop to Amrith's own emotional upheaval.

Background

Shyam Selvadurai was born in 1965 and grew up in Sri Lanka, eventually immigrating to Canada to escape political tension. Selvadurai identifies as a queer man and emphasizes that he makes an effort to incorporate both his own queerness and immigrant perspective into his writing.

Reception

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews referred to Swimming in the Monsoon Sea as "a tasteful, wonderful exploration of a seldom-explored culture" and highlighted how "Selvadurai writes with great success to his youngest audience yet". They explained, "His evocation of place and the depth he brings to his characters and their relationships make this a surprisingly gripping read".

Writing for Quill & Quire, Sarah Ellis described Swimming in the Monsoon Sea as "a crossover book" between young adult and adult fiction, "partly because it has two potential audiences, but more so because it will teach teen readers how to read adult fiction." She further compared Swimming in the Monsoon Sea to Selvadurai's 1994 novel Funny Boy. Ellis indicated that the "hefty overlap of material" between the novels "makes for a revealing case study on what makes a young adult novel", pointing to differences in how Selvadurai opted to handle political issues in the books, as well as the narrative structure. Ellis noted that while "Funny Boy uses a series of linked short stories, Monsoon Sea is a more conventional linear narrative, dealing with a shorter, more focused period of time"; she stated that "Selvadurai artfully retains some of the short story feeling, however, by having chapter titles, a useful device for those readers who still need a helping hand through longer fiction". One of the largest differences she found between the books was the handling of sexuality: "Funny Boy simply has a broader adult perspective and includes humour as part of the equation. Amrith’s story is, in contrast, intense, complicated, sexy, and moving, but not funny. To be a gay teenager in Asia in the early 1980s is, we assume, no joke."

Awards and honors

Swimming in the Monsoon Sea was selected for the American Library Association's 2007 list of the Best Books for Young Adults and their 2008 Rainbow Book List.

Awards for Swimming in the Monsoon Sea
Year Award Result Ref.
2005 Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature Won
2005 Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature Finalist
2005 INDIE Award for Young Adult Fiction (Children's) silver
2006 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award Won
2006 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award Shortlisted

References

  1. Yanofsky, Joel (8 October 1994). "Writing his way back to charmed life; Success comes quickly to Shyam Selvadurai". ProQuest Central. ProQuest 432727457. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  2. Selvadurai, Shyam (3 December 2020). "For author Shyam Selvadurai, the film adaptation of Funny Boy is deeply personal: Selvadurai says the novel he wrote in the fall of 1990, about a boy whose singular joy was dressing up as a bride, was drawn from his own life". ProQuest Central. ProQuest 2466359590. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  3. "Swimming in the Monsoon Sea". Kirkus Reviews. 2005-09-01. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  4. Ellis, Sarah (2005-08-29). "Swimming in the Monsoon Sea". Quill and Quire. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  5. "Best Books for Young Adults 2007". Young Adult Library Services Association. American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  6. "Swimming in the Monsoon Sea". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  7. Cerna, Antonio Gonzalez (2005-04-09). "18th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  8. "Swimming in the Monsoon Sea". Canadian Children's Book Centre. Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  9. ""Swimming in the Monsoon Sea" is a 2005 Foreword INDIES Winner". Foreword Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  10. "Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award Archives". Canadian Children's Book Centre. Archived from the original on 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
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