Swimming in the Monsoon Sea

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University. She is the author of several books, including The
Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret
Laurence: The Long Journey Home.

The exotic setting of Sri Lanka in 1980 in the monsoon season is well
suited to the narrative and themes of this sensitive and complex novel
for young adults. Amrith, a boy of 14 whose parents have both died, is
being raised by his lively Aunty Bundle and kindly Uncle Lucky. Their
daughters, his teenaged cousins Selvi and Mala, are energetic and
mischievous.

Despite their friendliness, Amrith feels uneasy and finds it difficult
to make friends. Things become more difficult when he overhears that his
relatives have rejected him and so he has no social standing. Worse
still, he hears that his father was an alcoholic, a tendency that can be
inherited. Amrith is angry that a past for which he is not responsible
may ruin his future.

However, Amrith does well in school, and enjoys the annual Inter-School
Shakespeare Competition in Columbo. Because none of the schools are
co-educational, female roles in boys’ schools are played by junior
boys, and male roles in girls’ schools are played by senior girls. In
previous years, Amrith has played Juliet and won the cup for “Best
Female Portrayal from a Boys’ School.” This year he is to play
Othello’s wife, Desdemona.

Intriguing complications develop with the arrival from Canada of
Amrith’s 16-year-old cousin Niresh, a troublemaker who has been asked
to leave three private schools. After spending weeks with Niresh, Amrith
comes to realize that he will have to live with the secret knowledge
that he is homosexual. In the end, Amrith inherits his family’s old
country home, an ancestral property that links him to his past, his
mother, and the promise of an independent life.

Selvadurai explores his protagonists’ problems and pleasures with
sensitivity and understanding. Young-adult readers will find this novel
an engaging read about a difficult subject. Highly recommended.