A Butterfly is a queer coming-of-age young adult novel set against conflicting
backdrops of identity, relationships and culture. The protagonist’s name, Pathanga,
which in Sanskrit means butterfly, is also pejorative slang for homosexual in Sri
Lanka, where this novel originates. Written in four parts, this young adult novel
narrates Pathanga’s family relationships, friendships, sexual awakening and most
importantly explorations of himself.

Like a butterfly that emerges as a caterpillar and is transformed through pupal
metamorphosis, the story follows Pathanga as a young undergraduate through his
first years at a university in Sydney, Australia. Each chapter captures a different
essence to create a rich melange of complex perspectives, as the protagonist forays
internal and external vulnerabilities to find self-acceptance and reach emotional
maturity.

Wittily crafted wistful commentaries about peoples and places, their practices and
prejudices are vividly described, as Pathanga confronts cultural clashes both at
home and abroad. The author offers readers a rare glimpse into a young gay man’s
coming of age in the seemingly cocooned safety of a foreign land while duplicity
stalks his hopes of catharsis in his homeland, where homosexuality is still
punishable by law.