The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi

This summer I reread one of my all-time favourite books: The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi. Published in 1990, it deservedly won the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel. The title may mean something to people who haven't read the book as it was made into a television series in the mid-1990s and sparked a huge furore in the conservative press for its depiction of one particular sex scene. This ridiculous Puritanism did plenty for the viewing figures and book sales, but sadly overshadowed and distorted what is a perceptive, funny, touching, brilliant, life-enhancing work of fiction. The story spans the years 1971 to the beginning of Thatcherism in 1979, and ...  Read the complete review

Introduction This book made ripples in the literary world when it was published in 1990; it won a Whitbread Prize for Literature and was made into a four-part mini-series on the television. Set in the 1970s, it tells the story of a half-Indian, half-English boy called Karim growing up in the suburbs – similar to a more adult version of Adrian Mole’s Diary, but addressing a lot more complicated issues and lots of sexual content. The author Hanif Kureishi was born in Bromley, Kent and as well as being the author of novels, also writes screenplays including My Beautiful Launderette and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. The story Karim has a ...  Read the complete review

The title of this book may ring bells with some people who haven’t read it, as it was made into a BBC drama series in 1993. More importantly it won the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel in 1990. Hanif Kureishi (HK from now on) is probably better known for his 2 excellent films, My Beautiful Launderette, and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. Well, I think so anyway, because I’ve seen them, and I didn’t see The Buddha of Suburbia. Subjective stuff, I know, but what the heck, it’s Thursday, an anniversary of sorts for me as coincidentally it’s the day I was born on. This is HKs’ debut novel, and it is sublime, well worthy of winning ...  Read the complete review

You like your fiction the way you like your men - snazzy, sexy with a great sense of humour? Try Kureishi for size. Here's a novel for our times which charts the experience of growing up in suburban London -boredom, claustrophobia and the desperate search for an identity the vast majority of us experience in our teens. All this is hampered in Karim's case by the fact he's a bisexual 'Englishman born and bred' - with an Indian father who is masquerading as a Buddhist and having a less than secret affair. The plot is fast and furious - it is no surprise the book was adapted for the small screen as it has a real cinematic feel. Although the ...  Read the complete review

The Bhudda of Suburbia was written by Hanif Kureishi in 1990, it went on to win that year's Whitbread Prize for best novel and was definitely a deserving winner. It was made into a television show in the mid nineties starring Naveen Andrews now better known for the show Lost currently showing around the world. The TV adaptation caused a huge furore in the british press at the time for its graphic depictions of sex. This was not so much for the nudity but due to a scene involving the protagonist Karim experimenting with another man.But back to the novel: The book centres around a young man named Karim Amir and spans his life ...  Read the complete review