The Buddha of Suburbia - by Hanif Kureishi (Paperback)

About the Book

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.

Book Synopsis

"A wickedly funny novel" (The New York Times) from the author of SHATTERED

"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 The 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.

Winner of the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel

Review Quotes

"Brilliant...fascinating and infuriating...Kureishi has an extraordinary gift for creating vivid characters."--The Boston Globe

"A wonderful novel. I doubt I will read a funnier one, or one with more heart, this year, possibly this decade."--Angela Carter, Guardian

"One of the best comic novels of growing up, and one of the sharpest satires on race relations in this country that I've ever read."--Independent on Sunday

"Brilliantly funny. A fresh, anarchic and deliciously unrestrained novel."--Sunday Times (London)

"A distinctive and talented voice, blithe, savvy, alive and kicking."--Hermione Lee, Independent (London)

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

"This remarkably fine first novel from the author of the screenplays My Beautiful Launderette and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid is a freewheeling tour through the London of the 1970's--a London as vice- and class-ridden as that of a Hogarth engraving."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Hanif Kureishi is a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is the author of the memoir Shattered, nine novels, including The Buddha of Suburbia (winner of the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel), The Black Album, Intimacy, and The Nothing. His screenplay of My Beautiful Laundrette was nominated for an Oscar, and he is the recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He lives in London.