Kampung Boy

A swift and subtle look at a particular and universal childhood. The details from 1950's rural Malaysia are a world away from Western city life, but the themes and experiences remain familiar. A deft, sly touch in the art and pacing makes this the classic it is known it be.

Lat takes us on a journey of his childhood growing up in the Kitna Valley in Perak in the 1950’s. Lat is master storyteller as he takes us down the wandering path of his memories showing us the ceremonies that were still practiced--such as asking the local teacher to take on students, the feeling of swimming in a river as the cool water washes over you, and the warmth and somewhat craziness of family--like the dad that takes off his shirt to scratch his back on the pole when he gets home from work, caring for siblings, and the discussions of future. But the modern world is gradually approaching with tin dredges and trains and automobiles. And Lat is about to head off to school in another town away from his family.

This book is done in show more a sketchbook style, with written descriptions of the events and illustrations accompanying them. The deceptively simple illustrations are compelling and catch that slice of life that seem to be missing in many modern comics. He doesn’t hesitate to illustrate what life was really like growing up for him, even if it means depicting his own backside as he and his friends strip down to take a swim in the river. Most importantly even though Lat illustrates how things are different in his world, there is much that is similar to our own way of life. The time spent with family and friends, the time spent at school..the more things seem to be different the more there is that is the same.

I highly recommend this book and it's sequel (Town Boy) to anyone and everyone, but particularly to the younger generation. Not just as a chance to illustrate the differences between cultures, but a chance to illustrate the similarities between them. show less

What a heartwarming, wonderful story about a boy growing up in a small village in Malaysia. I especially loved how Lat manages to capture so much about the boy in this story and his family in just a few sketches. Every page or two shows a different scene in this quiet (but not that quiet) village. I found myself reading it backwards, admiring the drawings. The last few pages were incredibly heartfelt.

Loved this for the details of village life in Malaysia the 1950s--things you can't get elsewhere, you can get in this graphic novel. Pictures of how a kitchen is set up, or a hammock rigged up so that Lat can rock his baby sister--or, later, a picture of him pulling his little brother along on a palm leaf frond. His dad shows him a weaver bird nest and says that weaver birds put fireflies in them to light up the insides. I checked this out online, and it's a widespread belief--people say this in India, too--but I guess it's something ornithologist have never actually seen, not for real. But anyway, little stories like that, I love. I liked everything about this book.

Loved this for the details of village life in Malaysia the 1950s--things you can't get elsewhere, you can get in this graphic novel. Pictures of how a kitchen is set up, or a hammock rigged up so that Lat can rock his baby sister--or, later, a picture of him pulling his little brother along on a palm leaf frond. His dad shows him a weaver bird nest and says that weaver birds put fireflies in them to light up the insides. I checked this out online, and it's a widespread belief--people say this in India, too--but I guess it's something ornithologist have never actually seen, not for real. But anyway, little stories like that, I love. I liked everything about this book.

Gentle, pleasant and very funny autobiographical account of growing up in a small town in the northern tin-mining areas of Malaysia, by one of Asia's foremost cartoonists.

'Sweet, funny, and brilliantly drawn, Kampung Boy is one of the all-time great cartoon books' - Matt Groening (The Simpsons)

Lat's Kampung Boy is a timeless favourite of millions of readers in Southeast Asia. With masterful economy worthy of Charles Schultz, Lat recounts the life of Mat, a Muslim boy growing up in rural Malaysia in the 1950s: his adventures and mischief-making, fishing trips, religious education, and work on his family's rubber plantation.
Meanwhile, the traditional way of life in his village (or kampung) is steadily disappearing, with tin mines and factory jobs increasingly overtaking the village's agricultural way of life. When Mat himself leaves for boarding school, he can only hope that his familiar kampung will still show more be there when he returns.

This delightful autobiographical graphic novel is hilarious and affectionate, with brilliant, super-expressive artwork that opens a window into ordinary Malay life.

Such is the affection for this book in his native Malaysia, Lat has been honoured as one of that country's national treasures, entitled to the honorary title, 'Datuk'. show less