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2 Beaverton Literature- A to Z

The Buddha of Suburbia

by Hanif Kureishi

The Buddha of Suburbia Cover

ISBN13: 9780140131680
ISBN10: 014013168x
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Karim Amir lives with his English mother and Indian father in the routine comfort of suburban London, enduring his teenage years with good humor, always on the lookout for adventure — and sexual possibilities. Life gets more interesting, however, when his father becomes the Buddha of Suburbia, beguiling a circle of would-be mystics. And when the Buddha falls in love with one of his disciples, the beautiful and brazen Eva, Karim is introduced to a world of renegade theater directors, punk rock stars, fancy parties, and all the sex a young man could desire. A love story for at least two generations, a high-spirited comedy of sexual manners and social turmoil, The Buddha of Suburbia is one of the most enchanting, provocative, and original books to appear in years.

Review:

"[D]electable....Resembling a modern-day Tom Jones, this is an astonishing book, full of intelligence and elan." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"[A]n unwieldy work....The book reads like three novellas flattened into one long narrative. The flaws and virtues are a first novelist's. The judgment here reads still promising; wait for the movie." Clark Blaise, The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"The book provides a witty, satiric view of English popular culture in the 1960s and 1970s, but it is fairly thin on plot and character development. This may be one instance where the movie version will actually be better than the book." Library Journal

Review:

"Kureishi's characters do not seduce with ideas, as does Saleem Sinai of Midnight's Children; they seduce with seduction, crassly and harshly, as they fiercely explore the empty possibilities of the dominant leisure class. When they think, they wander; when they don't, they lust." The Nation

Synopsis:

A love story for at least two generstions, a high-spirited comedy of sexual manners and social turmoil, The Buddha of Suburbia is one of the most enchanting, provocative, and original books to appear in years. "A wickedly funny novel that's at once a traditional comedy of manners and a scathing satire on race relations in Britain".--The New York Times.

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About the Author

Hanif Kureishi was born in 1954 and brought up in Bromley, Kent. His award-winning work includes plays, novels, and films. His plays are Outskirts, Sleep With Me, and his own version of Mother Courage. His films include My Beautiful Laundrette, Sammy and Rose Get Laid, and London Kills Me. His novels include Buddha of Suburbia and The Black Album, He is a co-editor of The Faber Book of Pop.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Scot, May 25, 2010 (view all comments by Scot)
You gotta read this book. I've loved it for years and still think of it as one of the most enjoyable of reads. Honestly, it was, to me, that good.

Hanif Kureishi is brilliant and the story is laugh out loud funny while nonetheless managing to touch and challenge readers with the poignancy of the issues, both personal and political, that are addressed. The characters are well-drawn, fascinating, very like people I'm sure many of us knew in this same period (it was published in 1990) in the U.S., but presented in a way that helped me to understand these prototypes anew, with more compassion.

I won't get too far into it. I'll leave it to you to read it and find out for yourself. Like I said, I loved it. You'll read it in one sitting. It goes really fast, but you'll remember it for years to come.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780140131680
Author:
Kureishi, Hanif
Publisher:
Penguin Books
Location:
New York, N.Y., U.S.A. :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Boys
Subject:
London
Subject:
Fathers and sons
Subject:
East Indians
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
Boys -- England -- London -- Fiction.
Subject:
Bildungsromane.
Subject:
Bildungsromans
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
1991
Edition Description:
Mass Market
Series Volume:
no.62
Publication Date:
May 1991
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
from 12
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
288
Dimensions:
7.82x5.14x.56 in. .45 lbs.
Age Level:
from 18
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Related Aisles

The Buddha of Suburbia Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$6.95 In Stock
Product details 288 pages Penguin Books - English 9780140131680 Reviews:
"Review" by , "[D]electable....Resembling a modern-day Tom Jones, this is an astonishing book, full of intelligence and elan."
"Review" by , "[A]n unwieldy work....The book reads like three novellas flattened into one long narrative. The flaws and virtues are a first novelist's. The judgment here reads still promising; wait for the movie."
"Review" by , "The book provides a witty, satiric view of English popular culture in the 1960s and 1970s, but it is fairly thin on plot and character development. This may be one instance where the movie version will actually be better than the book."
"Review" by , "Kureishi's characters do not seduce with ideas, as does Saleem Sinai of Midnight's Children; they seduce with seduction, crassly and harshly, as they fiercely explore the empty possibilities of the dominant leisure class. When they think, they wander; when they don't, they lust."
"Synopsis" by , A love story for at least two generstions, a high-spirited comedy of sexual manners and social turmoil, The Buddha of Suburbia is one of the most enchanting, provocative, and original books to appear in years. "A wickedly funny novel that's at once a traditional comedy of manners and a scathing satire on race relations in Britain".--The New York Times.

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