Shivan’s grandmother is such a beautifully rendered character. It is impossible to completely escape the past and, as Shivan learns, it is just as impossible to return to it. As the story shifts from the present day to Shivan’s childhood in Sri Lanka and the sexual freedom he first experiences in 1980s Toronto, we begin to understand the multitude of “ghosts” mentioned in the title. The novel begins with present day Canada where Shivan is, reluctantly, preparing to go home for the first time in years, to take his grandmother back with him. Trained from a young age to take over his grandmother’s assets, he instead flees the country to seek freedom and a better life in Toronto.

The Hungry Ghosts is the story of Shivan Rassiah, the beloved grandson of an utterly memorable matriarch. I didn’t want to risk going a full year before reviewing The Hungry Ghosts, so here we go. The last time I felt this strongly about a book was with Steven Heighton’s The Dead Are More Visible, for which, over a year later, I still haven’t dared write my review (and quite frankly, while I very much remember the impact that book made on me, I’ll have to re-read it to refresh my memory enough to write a review). I cannot recommend this book enough, and I feel that no review I write will be good enough to give it justice. That this story of a young gay man leaving a tumultuous past behind in Sri Lanka to begin a new life in Toronto resonated so deeply with me, a young straight woman unfamiliar with Sri Lankan history and moving from the Philippines to Toronto with far less need for emotional severance, is a testament to Selvadurai’s talent.

The story is steeped in the richness of Sri Lankan culture and mythology, and the author masterfully weaves it through the more grounded, all too real narrative of growing up with mixed Tamil and Sinhalese lineage in Sri Lanka. What Amy Tan does for the Chinese-American saga, Shyam Selvadurai does for Sri Lankan-Canadians, and I can only wish I, or someone far more talented, can do as well someday for the Filipino immigrant. Moving, evocative, a beautifully written, absolutely amazing coming of age, immigrant story. Shyam Selvadurai’s The Hungry Ghosts is the book I wish I could have written.

The hungry ghosts by shyam selvadurai