Town Boy

Slightly lesser followup to the author's "The Kampung Boy," this takes the author's life though his later school years, where he deals with love/crushes, cinema, and moving to a larger town.

Lat has the ability to draw and tell a very simple tale in the most profound and moving way. American readers will see much that resonates with American teens in this Malaysian coming of age story: parents who do not like loud music, obsession with breasts, the struggle to find artistic expression (often in the face of academic discouragement), the social awkwardness (notice the boys and girls at the dance), trying to find a girlfriend, friends drifting apart, and more. Readers also experience vast differences, both historical and cultural, in this Malaysian community. Along the way, Lat spices the pages with just the right amount of political commentary. I nominated Lat’s Kampung Boy (also by First Second) for BBYA last year; I am show more happy to vote yes on this title because it is even more accessible to teens, even those not necessarily in love with the graphic format. I am only sorry that someone beat me to this nomination this year. Perfect for both middle school and high school libraries! show less

Lat, otherwise known as Kampung Boy, returns in this second volume of his life story, "Town Boy," detailing the second half of his adolescence in the small town of Ipoh in Malaysia. It's an autobiographical tale and Lat masterfully shares with us his tale of growing up in the 1960's in Malyasia--relating not a tale of someone famous or that has great life changes happen to them, but that of the everyday person. A person that we can all relate to, because we can connect with him. We can see our own friends and classmates in the people that Lat describes and remember our own slightly awkward adolescence. And even though Lat illustrates how things are different in his world, there is much that is similar. And while it's illustrations are show more seemingly simple, they are compelling and help us know the characters better. I highly recommend this book and it's prequel (Kampung Boy) to anyone and everyone, but particularly to the younger generation. Not as a chance to illustrate the differences between cultures, but a chance to illustrate the similarities between cultures and across generations. show less

In his native Malaysia, Lat is a phenomenon. A cartoonist since age 9, he's been enormously popular for the last thirty years, and was even commissioned to draw the artwork for AirAsia jets. Of course, he's practically unknown here in the United States, but First Second Press (publishers of American Born Chinese) are introducing him to American audiences by publishing two autobiographical volumes, Kampung Boy and Town Boy.

I haven't read the first volume, but that was no handicap at all. This book starts off when Lat's family moves from a village (or kampung) to the town of Ipoh, and follows the exploits of Lat and his friends through their first (age 10) and last (age 17) years of school together. They discover rock 'n' roll, cheat on show more the cross country race, perform in the marching band, and dream about pretty girls.

The striking thing about this kind of story is the mix of similarities and differences from what I would find familiar. While all the subplots could (and probably would) be found in an American memoir from the same generation, the setting shows some tremendous cultural differences. Malaysia is a very diverse country, and the English edition of the book includes some aspects of Malaysian English (notably the multi-purpose particle lah) as well as bits of dialogue in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, and what I believe is Tamil. Also, the schools are boys only, and the British-derived educational system makes some of the school scenes difficult to understand completely.

Despite the foreignness of the Malaysian setting, though, the overall feeling is of the warmth of friends and family. Lat has fond memories of childhood fun and mischief, an engaging storyteller's style, and a wicked caricaturist's sense of humor. I look forward to reading Volume 1.

Original post on "All The Things I've Lost" show less

I loved Kampung Boy, and had high hopes for Town Boy. Both books are rich in the sense-experience of living being a particular age in a particular time and place, but what held together in Kampung Boy became scattered and distracting in Town Boy. I would have liked to have seen this volume broken down into several stories, each discussing either a shorter period or a smaller number of throughlines, and giving more attention to its subjects.

In this sequel to Kampung Boy, Lat continues his autobiography from when he starts school and he and his family members become "town people" to when he finishes school. It's amusing, just as KB was, and the glimpse into a childhood from another culture is enlightening. I agree with reviews that say it lacks the focus of KB and that makes it somewhat less successful. Lots of details are provided in the illustrations, but they're not supported in the text, which may leave some readers in the dark. Also, it jumps around from event to event with no clear idea of how much time has passed, which made me feel like I was missing something. A bit disappointing after I liked Kampung Boy so much.

This graphic novel is a fun, entertaining and informative fast read about a boy coming of age in Malaysia. The illustrations are very expressive and complement the text beautifully. This is the sequel to Kampung Boy.