Synopses & Reviews
Gabriel's father, a washed-up rock musicisn, has been chucked out of the house. His mother works nights in a pub and sleeps days. Navigating his way through the shattered world of his parents' generation, Gabriel dreams of being an artist. He finds solace and guidance through a mysterious connection to his deceased twin brother, Archie, and his own knack for proudcing real objects simply by drawing them.A chance visit with mega-millionaire rock star Lester Jones, his father's former band mate, provides Gabriel with the means to heal the rift within his family. Kureishi portrays Gabriels' naive hope and artistic aspirations with the same insight and searing honesty that he brought to the Indian-Anglo experience in The Buddha of Suburbia and to infidelity in Intimacy. Gabriel's Gift is a humorous and tender meditation on failure, redemption, the nature of talent, the power of imagination--and a generation that never wanted to grow up, seen through the eyes of their children.
Review
"Smart, sensitive and brisk....Gabriel's Gift does what many of us are unable to do: It plumbs through the small deceits and cheap antagonisms of everyday family life and emerges open-eyed and smiling." The Hartford Courant
Review
"A gently charming, comic novel, exhibiting the brilliant dialogue that makes Kureishi's movies so entertaining." The Washington Post
Review
"[A]n appealing, deceptively breezy coming-of-age story recalling his screenplays in its tender evocation of London-area grunge....[A] shrewd, warmly imagined portrayal of the healing powers of art." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Kureishi's other career as a screenwriter-director shows all over this endearing, dialogue-and-blocking-heavy book that would make surprise! a heartwarming movie." Booklist
Review
"[I]nveterately thin but generally amusing....Amusing deceptions, misunderstandings, and setbacks precede the happy end....Pleasant frivolities, with just a refreshing dash of cynicism and attitude." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Gabriel's father, a washed-up rock musician, has been chucked out of the house by Gabriel's mother, who works nights and sleeps days. Lonely Gabriel finds solace in a mysterious connection to his deceased twin, Archie, and in his gift for producing real objects simply by drawing them. Then a chance visit with rock star Lester Jones, his father's former bandmate, provides Gabriel with a tool that might help mend his family. All he has to do is figure out how to use it.
Hanif Kureishi portrays Gabriel's naive hope and artistic aspirations with the same insight that he brought to the Anglo-Indian experience in The Buddha of Suburbia and to infidelity in Intimacy. Gabriel's Gift is a tender meditation on failure, talent, and the power of imagination, and offers a humorous portrait of a generation that only started to think about growing up when its children did.
Synopsis
Gabriel's ex-rock musician father has been chucked out of the house by his mother, who works nights and sleeps days. Gabriel finds solace in drawing (producing real objects by drawing them), getting guidance from his twin brother Archie (deceased).
About the Author
Hanif Kureishi won England's Whitbread Prize for The Buddha of Suburbia and received an Oscar nomination for My Beautiful Laundrette. He is also the author of The Black Album and Love in a Blue Time, and he wrote the films Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, London Kills Me, and My Son the Fanatic. He lives in London.