Town Boy

Kampung Boy #2

by Lat

Malaysian teenager Mat makes a life-changing move from the quiet kampung where he was born to Ipoh, the rapidly industrializing nearby town. Living far from his rural roots at a boarding school, he discovers bustling streets, modern music, heady literature, budding romance, and through it all his growing passion for art. The companion novel to the critically acclaimed Kampung Boy , Town Boy offers more of Lat's delicious storytelling and enchanting pen-and-ink artwork. At once exotic and familiar, his cartoon world builds a bridge for readers into another world, another culture, and another time.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult, Humor, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Art

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Sooraya Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually stunning.
A portrayal of multiracial camaraderie during a time when life was a lot simpler.
It's very rare that I spend hours scrutinizing the artwork accompanying a graphic novel.
In Lats work, there's a lot of hidden humor. Especially if one pays attention to background characters.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I went gaga over a Malaysian comic from the seventies. Doesn't a sentence that like sound cool? Like I'm some kind of obscure comic enthusiast with a penchant for the best overseas comics of decades past? The truth is far less sexy, I'm afraid. First Second brought to our American shores the comic book Kampung Boy, a title that original appeared in Malaysia long ago. Initially the format didn't intrigue me, but after a test run I found that I liked Lat (the one-namer author) and his work quite a lot. The story was an unpretentious memoir of growing up in a small kampung (village) and the typical mischievous boy adventures that occurred in one kid's life. At the end of the book our hero leaves his home to go to Ipoh to pursue his studies. This year the sequel, "Town Boy" is out and continues Lat's story. With all the humor and visual aplomb of the first book, this second story crosses the critical boundary from being a boy to becoming a man.

Our hero, Mat, has moved from village boy to city boy and the transition has come with a host of different changes. His family has moved to Ipoh with him and the life and excitement that comes with such a transition is thrilling to them all. Other changes are in the works too. Mat befriends Frankie, a Chinese student, and when they discover their mutual love of music and records the two really hit it off. "Town Boy" follows Mat's growth and adolescence. He falls head over heels in love with Normah, a stunner of a girl. He goes to dances, learns art, and is even in the marching band. But age brings change and soon Mat finds himself losing his best friend and trying to decide whether or not to follow in his father's footsteps or find his own path through life.

First Second took a bit of a risk publishing a graphic novel as thin and long as "Kampung Boy". Reading the sequel, I was struck by how necessary that move really was. To force this book into a square rather than a rectangle would be to cut off crucial portions of the action (not to mention some great visual gags). It would be the equivalent of panning and scanning a great film. So many portions of the book rely on full landscapes for the joke or the idea to make sense too. At one point we learn that Normah is officially the hottest girl in town. Yet our first glimpse of her is the top half of her head exiting a frame as an entire street scene of men on bikes, buses, and cars stare agog. It's great. Almost as good, really, as the moment when our two heroes attempt to cheat a race by running across an illegal bridge, unknowingly heading towards their principal and disciplinary master hiding in the bushes at the far far far end.

I also really gained an appreciation for Lat's art. For example, in one scene we see our hero explaining to his family at dinner how great it would be to own a record player. The next panel shows his father giving us, the viewers, a skeptical sideways glance. Lat does this entirely with the eyes and the eyebrows. It's subtle but you catch the meaning immediately. It has been said that Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, has been a fan of Lat for years and I definitely believe it. They both have an eye for getting just the right amount of slack-jawed idiocy in a character's face.

Altogether, it's a great sequel and well-worth a glance. Even if you've never read the original, "Town Boy" deserves a little love. A great discovery for anyone, regardless of age.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyday life in '70s Malaysia, where the kampung boy is now a studying town bit, trying to become an artist, making friends with a Chinese boy, running after the most beautiful girl
Really like it

[Michael Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Town Boy is one of the many graphic memoirs, where the author describes visually and textually an era, or place, or both. Lat shows a good mastery of the medium and produces a good memoir, but for me it's just not refined enough, and the time and place are just not that appealing. (If you're wandering, I've been to Singapore and Malaysia, and was interested in a deeper historical and social account.)

The story and characters are simple: a kampong family moves to a newly built area of a city in Malaysia. The protagonist of the story is Lat (Mat), who is an artistically inclined kid of twelve at the start of the story. Lat the grown-up explores the Malaysian small-city culture through the eyes of kid-Lat; there are numerous episodes in school, etc. We see also the Chinese side of the society, as Lat befriends a relatively rich boy. As the book progresses, Lat and his friend turn eighteen, finish high-school, and part ways dramatically. There odd also a little fling. However, there is little of interest in the story, except for the bird's eye view at the Malaysian culture in the 1960s. Where is the social tension? Where are the Malay equivalents of Marzi's Communist imbeciles? Where is Anii mei ca pionier's dramatic lack of food, poorly built houses, etc.? Where are the devil-cats of Maus or their equivalent? To Lam, every page is a slow step towards the book end and no tension ever appears. (It's even much duller than Grease, the movie.)

The characters are also rather sketchy: the two kids who share most of the pages develop an interesting friendship, but separate without much fuss. There is nothing else that does emotion in the book.

Graphics-wise, I looked very much the depiction of the street. Lam has done his research and the drawings are very good. I was not particularly impressed, though, with the graphic style: the unfinished, cartoonish drawings could have been so much more alive if drawn more realistically.

[Dani Shuping · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 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.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We discovered LAT (Mohammad Nor Khalid)'s Kampung Boy last year and were intrigued by the author's style, his sense of humor, and his ability to convey subtle aspects of his culture and religion for those of us who are quite unfamiliar with life in Malaysia during the 1960s.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading this sequel, but it really shows how a few years of age, maturity, and exposure to a town (vs. rural) lifestyle can change a person's perspectives and shape his experiences.

His ability to attend school in a town setting (Ipoh) exposed Mat to a wide variety of music, people, media, clothing, and food, not to mention the 'bad' influences that tend to attract young men of all generations.

Overall, it's a fun, fast read and I enjoyed learning more about the life of this young man. I hope to see more of this author's work in our local library.

[Maxine Baghdadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The graphic novel, Town Boy by Mohammad Nor Khalid, is based in Malaysia, and surrounds the life of a young Malaysian boy, Mat. Mat recently moved away from from the quiet streets of Ipoh to the quick-paced streets of the town where he attends a boarding school. Through his love for music, he meets Frankie, his best friend. Although there really isn't a specific plot to the book, he maintains his friendship with Frankie. That is the only identical feature throughout the whole book that remains. Mohammed Nor Khalid illustrates some exceptional work of art. Adding life to every character shown, you could almost feel like you were there on those streets. Frankie and Mat talk about what they want to be when there older, which leads to the ending. Frankie ends up moving to London to pursue his dream, ending with the goodbye between the two best friends. Overall, this book was fairly entertaining, mostly because of the illustrations provided. I would recommend this book to fans of graphic novels and anyone who would enjoy an extremely quick read.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious to read this because Jason Shiga (my new cartoonist crush) mentions in an afterword to "Double Happiness" that he was very much inspired by Lat's work & "Town Boy" in particular. And in fact there are a few scenes in Town Boy that Shiga basically replicates in "Double Happiness," only shifting the scene from 1960's Malaysia to present-day SF Chinatown.

I think I liked "Kampung Boy" a bit more than this one, although I did really love the street scenes in "Town Boy." Lat's drawing style is so different from most cartoonists I normally like -- looser, more kinetic in a way -- but I still enjoy it. I especially like how he uses the entire two-page spread to stretch out a scene.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Together with "Kampung Boy", this book forms one of the great visual memoirs of the 20th century. There is no high drama; this is day-to-day life that radically changes as a family moves from its traditional rural home to a modern town in the mid-20th century.

While I'm very glad that First Second made this book available to American audiences for the first time, I'm disappointed that the page area has been severely reduced from the original versions. I would urge avid readers to seek out Malaysian editions at the larger size to see the work as it was originally intended.

[miaaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kisah masa remaja si penulis di kota Ipoh, ilustrasi yang menarik dan dengan bahasa Malaysia dengan logat yang unik hahaha satu hal yg aku suka dari Malaysia adalah bahasa Melayu mereka

[Immigration Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

This amusing cartoon book is the continuation of the story of Mat, now a pre-teen (and then teenager), whose childhood adventures began in the Malaysian village of his youth (in the equally amusing "Kampung Boy").

Mat is now going to school in the town of Ipoh, far from his rural roots (he is the "Town Boy"). In this "coming of age" tale, Mat experiences exactly what every pre-teen and teenager all over the world experiences -- the unpredictable, funny, sad, ridiculous, and often bittersweet moments of the maturation process.

Again, as with "Kampung Boy," "Town Boy," extols the virtue of the common human experience over anything else. Everyone -- every man, woman and child -- all over this Earth, wants the same thing for their families and for the future. Human aspirations are universal.

So, what gets in the way? If a school boy in Malaysia wants, feels, and experiences what a school boy in New York (or in Tatarstan, or in any other place) does, then why is there deep discord in the world?

Why does man perpetrate violence against fellow man? Why? I believe there are 3 reasons why: the quest for political power and dominance; greed; and religious fanaticism -- all 3 get in the way, and drive people to madness.

If the drive for power (of political leaders of nations big and small) were curbed; if the greed of corporations and oligarchs in democracies, autocracies, and systems of all stripes (communist, socialist, capitalist, and everything else among these big 3) was crushed; and if extremist religious superiority (which leads to the denigration of others), among Muslims, Christians, Jews, and every other religion scattered among these big 3, was squelched, the common thread of simple human dignity would, you'd think, allow the Muslim boy in Malaysia to cheer, welcome, and commune with the Jewish boy in New York, and also with the Christian boy in Tatarstan.

If only . . .

[Noninuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Being the sequel of Kampung Boy, it tells the story of the author when his family moved to Ipoh & school anecdotes and ended right after SPM (or whatever they called it back in the days). Fast read and quite enjoyable too.

[Syazwanie Winston Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh, to be young once again. Frankie, Mat and the rest of the convent boys. A trip down the memory lane indeed. Lat never lets you down!

[Mikey The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple story of a boy coming into his own while perusing his passions for the arts. Friendship / Romance and the story of growing up. Simple times and simpler days.

[Korynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am continuing to love this series. I love the way the characters move in their environments of streets, coffee shops, into cyclos and onto buses. The main character now lives in a town ( a big change for his poor family) and it chronicles his days in school and the meeting of his best friend, Frankie. There are some great sequences in this book, really fantastic little snippets of life that are so familiar for all that they occurred a lifetime ago to someone else on the other side of the world. There is a jump midway through the book from childhood to teen but that is bridged perfectly by copying the familiar sequence of meeting Frankie for school as boys, and updating it to picking Frankie up for school as now 'too cool' teens. This contrast is perfect as it mixes the familiar and new for the reader, gently bridging the gap in time because everything is the same but now they see things differently as teens. The book ends on a forlorn note, as our protagonist graduates from school only to see Frankie shipped off to England for college.

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet again, I learn not to be prejudiced against international comics, even when they appear to be coming of age stories. Town Boy is more Sergio Aragones than Robert Peck, and while its narrative does cover the years between ten and the late teens, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of structured growth in any of the characters. Its story exists at all mostly to provide Lat with a chance to fill some pages, and, really, Aragones is the comparable artist who comes to mind, each page overflowing with weird, fat-bellied, spindy-legged, completely goofy-looking characters who fight and gawk and shop for brassieres and whatever else you can think of as a background to our main character Mat's wanderings. It's not a particularly deep book, but it's tremendously enjoyable and a quick read.

[Sylvia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buku ini memoarnya si penulis. Ceritanya tentang seorang anak yang tinggal di sebuah kampung, di Malaysia. Percakapannya campuran antara Malay dan English. Yah seperti orang-orang Melayu itu cakap lah. Lucu aja bacanya. Kek gini nih:

Mat: "Oh no, today we're having a double math period!"

Frankie: "Relax... any minute now we're going to have another encounter with Normah"

NORMAH - the hottest girl in Ipoh
She made heads turn...

Both: "Wow..."

Frankie: "If I want to go out on a date with a girl I can go anytime lah... I know so many in my neighborhood - Jenny, Susan, Josephine, Vivien, Sally, Margaret... but they are dull lah..."

Mat: "Pegi dah!"

Hihi.. lucu aja baca komik bikinan org melayu. Gambarnya sih tidak seperti manga atau graphic novels yang indah dengan mata berbinar seperti bola lampu kristal, tapi ceritanya lumayan kocak.

[Danya Itani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Town Boy is the second book to Kampung Boy. Town boy picks off right where Kampung boy left. Town boy is about this Malaysian teenager who doesn't really know what to do with his life. The book is funny at times but not very exciting. Not too many events are being described and the only thing being told is the daily life of the teenage Malaysian kid. For example, he goes with his friends and hangs out. Or he finds a new friend and they share a common interest: music.

Yes Kampung boy was an amazing book filled with traditional information I found myself interested by, although, town boy, was not like Kampung boy. I feel like I only enjoyed Town Boy was because of the drawings and the characters, but not necessarily was was talked about throughout the comic. I would have loved to see more facts on Islam and Malaysia like Kampung Boy so that I could relate to it more.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to "Kampung Boy". Mat moves to a much larger town, Ipoh, Indonesia. He attends middle and high school and makes a posse of friends, including Frankie, who is Chinese. All born in the early 1950's, the boys are listening and dancing to the best of rock and roll from the early days-edgy, raw, forbidden. Mat's friend Walter has records and a phonograph, so they make friends through listening to rock and roll and continue to spend lots of time together.
More fun from the artist, but now darling Mat is a teen. Probably more relevant to YA's, who could skip the charming "Kampung Boy" yet miss getting to know Mat as a little boy in the kampung. After all, many teens have little brothers.

[Storyteller John Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the action of Kampung Boy, with Lat's character Mat having left the kampung to go to school in the--you guessed it--town. The events depicted give a peek into 1960s Malaysian life, while also displaying the universal experiences of coming of age.

Lat's art may seem crude, but it is very vibrant and expressive. I love the characters' expression & the way they move! His backgrounds give a real sense of place; I've never been to Malaysia (let alone in the 1960s), but I've spent time in modern Singapore, and Lat's pen-and-ink depiction of local architecture & food culture take me right back.

Town Boy, like Kampung Boy, ends as the action continues, once again leaving me wanting more, hoping there is a next volume to discover.

[Molek Kasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book A LOT of times when I was in primary school and I know I enjoyed it tremendously but being young I didn't really get the message. It was mostly "oh they grew up, and Frankie (frankie right? I've got to check this again) left to continue his studies. Ok, bye!" kind of thing.

But reading it again I felt a deep sense of emptiness when Frankie left and the look on Mat's face when he realises that things are changing. That life is going to get in the way and there are things that you have to let go and there's nothing you can do about it. That was upsetting. Maybe because I'm going through loss of friendships but this hit me so much in ways that I didn't feel before.

Lat encaptures that feeling through drawing a few panel of boxes and that is amazing.

[Sam H · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Town Boy takes place in Ipoh, Malaysia. The main characters is a teenage boy named Mat. The book follows Mat through his everyday life in his new town, Ipoh. Although it may not sound very interesting, it is fun to see Mat embark on little adventures everyday. Although Mat lives a daily life, the reader can be engaged by the customs and cultures of Malaysia. The author Mohammad Nor Khalid's drawings are beautiful and make the book even more wonderful. I am not a fan of reading, and I was personally surprised that once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.

[Zhiqing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great follow up to Lat's very funny, engaging and nostalgic Kampung Boy. Mat's family left their Kampung life behind and moved to the city in this sequel where Mat made new friends, excelled in art and pondered on his future. The drawings are amazing and hilarious, particularly those of Mat's best friend Frankie who encouraged Mat to become an artist. I was practically grinning from the beginning to the end.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this even better than Kampung Boy... there was one section that I kept showing to teachers in the library that cracked everyone up instantly... let's just say it showed the significant difference in alertness between two groups of students, to the detriment of one :) I also love the way Lat draws adolescent boys, lounging around and trying to look bow-leggedly cool.

[Casidhe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this when i was very young and it left a lasting impression.

An overarching sense of entrapment within the present is prevalent within the novel as the author fondly reminisces his past through the medium of a graphic novel, reinforced by the unique and unmistakable artwork as seen before in Kampung Boy.

Although it lacks the narrow scope that was seen in Kampung Boy, it certainly does not lack depth and heart, both of which make this book a very, very enjoyable read.

[Alexina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are so clever in this book and the story is very simple.

This is the second graphic novel in the "Kampung Boy" series and it picks up right where the first one leaves off. Mat is now a young adult living in Ipoh, the city, and going to school. We get to meet his best friend Frankie and see some of their mischievous acts as they grow up. We also get to see the little romance popping up and a goodbye between best friends at the end.

I enjoyed it.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book published in the U.S. by Lat. This continues the author's story as his family moves to town and he progresses through school in Malaysia. It's really a neat story because it's set in a different part of the world. And the artwork is fun. The pictures seem simple but there is a lot going on in them and I like how he captures life during this time period.

[Blessy Samjose · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming of age story that comically narrates the antics of young adulthood without compromising its challenging moments. Kudos to the author for capturing deeper themes such as politics and multiculturalism in late 1900s Malaysia, all within the pages of a short graphic novel. I liked this one better than Kampung boy.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Though the individual scenes are often excellently executed, as a whole the book seems to lack a purpose, goal, or unifying theme to unite the work." More here: http://www.playbackstl.com/content/vi...