Name: Kampung Boy
ISBN: 9781596431218

A graphic novel relates the life experiences, from birth to beginning boarding school, of a Muslim boy growing up on a rubber plantation in rural Malaysia in the 1950s that include mischief-making, fishing trips, religious study, and work on his family's rubber plantation.

Kampung Boy

Sarah Sammis

Kampung Boy (Budak Kampung) is an autobiography in the form of a graphic novel. It covers Lat's childhood in the 1950s and 1960s in a village in the Kinta Valley. It starts with his birth and ends with his father riding with him to the boarding school as a teen.

I found this book tucked between a number of manga series at my local library. I was drawn in by the title and the publisher / importer: :01 (same publisher as Life Sucks). I flipped through the book, liked the art style and found the first few pages captivating.

Stylistically Kampung Boy reminds me most of Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa (another :01 import) (). There's a similarity with the jutting jaws, wiggly legs and the basic energy of all the characters (especially the children). What's thankfully missing from Kampung Boy is the underlying tragedy of Three Shadows.

Besides being a fun coming of age story, Kampung Boy was educational for me. I went into the book knowing next to nothing about Malaysia. I came away with a better feeling for some of the country's culture and a desire to learn more.

The sequel to Kampung Boy is called Town Boy. I hope to find a copy to read.

Laura Mauler

LOVED it! Semi-autobiographical story about a young Muslim boy growing up in rural Malaysia. The drawings are really energetic and detailed cartoons, and the story is simple in the best possible way. Loved loved loved it.

Kampung Boy

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