Synopses & Reviews
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
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.
Synopsis
Winner of the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel There was one copy going round our school like contraband. I read it in one sitting ... I'd never read a book about anyone remotely like me before.-- Zadie Smith
My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost...
The hero of Hanif Kureishi's debut novel is dreamy teenager Karim, desperate to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving - albeit with some rude and raucous results.
With the publication of Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi landed into the literary landscape as a distinct new voice and a fearless taboo-breaking writer. The novel inspired a ground-breaking BBC series featuring a soundtrack by David Bowie.
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.