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Product Description
From Amazon
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating,
By
This review is from: The Buddha of Suburbia (Paperback)
I studied the "Imperial Gaze" throughout this past semester and read some pretty interesting and varied stuff--The Satanic Verses, Kim, The Jewel in the Crown, to name a few. But I wondered why my professor would recommend this book to me without having us read it in class, so I picked it up and was floored. The Buddha of Suburbia isn't spectacular just because it handles important issues with such sharpness, but because it seems (and is) so relevant to our life here and now.I was entranced while following the story of Karim. When you read about someone around your own age (not that this book isn't for all ages), but in an entirely new and different situation, and still feel a deep connection, you know you've just read a powerful story. The Buddha of Suburbia is a great example. It's told with such hard-hitting, direct prose that you can't help but know with heart-aching sadness that what happens to Karim throughout the novel actually does happen. Marriages fall apart, racism is real, etc and the confusion that swirls through Karim's head ensures that the reader will understand this. He doesn't have all the answers--noone does--but Karim tries to live through all the hardship, all the selfishness, and all the superficiality. Sometime's he's unsuccessful, but when he finally realizes what's important in life you see that he's going to make it through.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Joy Ride!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Buddha of Suburbia (Paperback)
I never wanted to part ways with the eccentric characters of this fast paced, hilarious novel. I loved Karim and his extra-ordinary family, flaws and all. And I cared for their welfare. Set in London of the 1960s - the author skillfully introduces the reader to the racist abuses, class and existential struggles of that era that are still true today most likely.If you are tired of the predictable works of most contemporary authors and eager for something with a little snap, spice and depth, look no further. The language alone will STAGGER you. I am in love with Hanif Kureishi. Good Job!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating,
By "johnewark" (Hull, East Yorkshire, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Buddha of Suburbia (Paperback)
Welcome to a world constructed by genius, humour and frequent moments of radicalism. The Buddha of Suburbia wasawarded the Whitbread Prize for First Noel (1990) and what a stunning debut work it is. Set in the South London suburbs, Karim Amir is an Indian teenager growing up in the 1970s, learning to cope with adolescence and all its trappings. This frank and imaginative work reveals his personal traumae, loves, desires and wishes whilst he observes those around him with the same regard that a psychologist has for his patients. The father who changes from civil Servant to 'Buddha of Suburbia', the teenage rock star, Charlie Hero, who operates as a young Marxist and introduces Karim to sex, drugs and the real life behind a drab and grey London, each character possesses a vibrancy and colour that contrasts brilliantly with their repressed and conservative surroundings. This is the sort of novel which appeals to all age ranges, identifying with teenage angst and confusion, exploring the power of the mid-life crisis and defying the spectre of old age, something Kureishi banishes with panache. From Karim's secret love for his idol, Charlie, and Charlie's descent into the underworld of teenage revolutionaries, The Buddha of Suburbia is the sort of novel which can be read again and again, finding some startling nuance of society each time.
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