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Product Description
Product Description
Set in London in 1989, the year of the fatwah and the fall of the Berlin Wall, this is a thriller with a background of raves, ecstasy, religious ferment and sexual passion. By the author of "The Buddha of Suburbia" and "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid".
About the Author
Hanif Kureishi was born and brought up in Kent. He read philosophy at King's College, London. In 1981 he won the George Devine Award for his plays Outskirts and Borderline, and in 1982 he was appointed Writer-in-Residence at the Royal Court Theatre. In 1984 he wrote My Beautiful Laundrette, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. His second screenplay Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) was followed by London Kills Me (1991) which he also directed. The Buddha of Suburbia won the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel in 1990 and was made into a four-part drama series by the BBC in 1993. His version of Brecht's Mother Courage has been produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. His second novel, The Black Album, was published in 1995. With Jon Savage he edited The Faber Book of Pop (1995). His first collection of short stories, Love in a Blue Time, was published in 1997. His story My Son the Fanatic, from that collection, was adapted for film and released in 1998. Intimacy, his third novel, was published in 1998, and a film of the same title, based on the novel and other stories by the author, was released in 2001 and won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival. His play Sleep With Me premièred at the Royal National Theatre in 1999. His second collection of stories, Midnight All Day, was published in 2000. Gabriel's Gift, his fourth novel, was published in 2001. The Body and Seven Stories and Dreaming and Scheming, a collection of essays, were published in 2002. His screenplay The Mother was directed by Roger Michell and released in 2003. In 2004 he published his play When The Night Begins and a memoir, My Ear At His Heart. A second collection of essays, The Word and the Bomb, followed in 2005. His screenplay Venus was directed by Roger Michell in 2006. His novel Something to Tell You was published in 2008. In July 2009 his adaptation of his novel, The Black Album, opened at the National Theatre, prior to a nation-wide tour. In 2010 his Collected Stories were published. He has been awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book as "The Buddha of Suburbia" (also by Kureishi) which I had intended to buy, was not in stock.
The cover blurb seemed good, promising an insight into modern issues of multiculturalism in Britain.
Sadly, the cover really is the best bit. The main characters are one-dimensional, and you can easily tell what each of them is going to do before you read it. The plot which these characters inhabit lurches about violently, leaving the reader feeling disconnected from the story. The main protagonist (and indeed, most characters in the book) are pretty unpleasant, and it is hard to feel empathy with them, or the situations they get themselves into. The depiction of London is of a trashy, drug-riddled waste ground devoid of dignity or hope (I know London is no utopia, but really it isn't THIS bad)
The main sticking point though, is that the multicultural issues are not addressed, just talked around or used to ignite another (predictable) confrontation. I really did want to like this book, and to get some newer understanding of a complex issue from it, however, it isn't likeable or complex in itself.
On the plus side, there are vivid little scenes that mad me laugh out loud, so 2 stars overall, but, I would not recommend it.
I noticed that "Buddha of Suburbia" is now back in stock - I will give this a go and hopefully see Kureishi in a more favourable light
The cover blurb seemed good, promising an insight into modern issues of multiculturalism in Britain.
Sadly, the cover really is the best bit. The main characters are one-dimensional, and you can easily tell what each of them is going to do before you read it. The plot which these characters inhabit lurches about violently, leaving the reader feeling disconnected from the story. The main protagonist (and indeed, most characters in the book) are pretty unpleasant, and it is hard to feel empathy with them, or the situations they get themselves into. The depiction of London is of a trashy, drug-riddled waste ground devoid of dignity or hope (I know London is no utopia, but really it isn't THIS bad)
The main sticking point though, is that the multicultural issues are not addressed, just talked around or used to ignite another (predictable) confrontation. I really did want to like this book, and to get some newer understanding of a complex issue from it, however, it isn't likeable or complex in itself.
On the plus side, there are vivid little scenes that mad me laugh out loud, so 2 stars overall, but, I would not recommend it.
I noticed that "Buddha of Suburbia" is now back in stock - I will give this a go and hopefully see Kureishi in a more favourable light
Format:Paperback
Thought provoking read. Interesting perspective and great compostion: lines like "derilict young men" and his evocative and compassionate descriptions of human personality & activity and which pervade the London of his protagonists; not only an open and stimulating analysis of passions which drive us as individuals and groups, but it's also a great story.
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The life experiences of young second generation British Asians are rather familiar Kureishi territory and sad to say this book panders to stereotype rather too much, especially in the depiction of the extremist Muslim characters which are crude and one-dimensional. The dialogue too is sometimes clumsy and unbelievable, and the novel's discussion of literature borders on the pretentious. On the positive side, however, the various clashes evident in Shahid's personality are drawn out for all they are worth and it is clear the author has real insight into the problem of confused cultural identity, which allows for an interesting examination of the psychology of Shahid's tentative rejection of Western values.
NK
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
SPLIT LOYALTIES
Kureishi has brought up a number of issues which British-Asians go through everyday. His story has a number of twists and turns which keeps the reader captivated throughout from... Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2007 by Mr. T. WILKHU
Islam-ain't-bad
Kureshi once again effortlessly combines dark humour with contemporary issues as he writes about being a young British Muslim growing up in the turbulent 80s. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2006 by Madly Bobbington-Blythe
An intelligent amusing book about cultural identity
I loved this book and found it well written and pertinent to many of the issues of a multicultural society. Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2005 by R. Fulton
Rushdie without prentention
Compared to "The Buddha of suburbia", I felt "The black album" was a little overconstructed, self-conscious and the plot was maybe a bit farfetched. Read more
Published on 14 July 2003 by Tigerrtje
Kureishi at his most optimistic and enjoyable
The Black Album is essentially a comic picaresque novel - the story of a young man in search of experience, torn between the conflicting attractions of religious idealism and... Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2001
The readers ignorence takes away from this book
This book is about issues which are very alien to most western readers. Islam is seen by the west to be linked to terrorism and violence, but this book deals with the effect of... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2001 by lovelypoppy@hotmail.com
Confusing and messy
I bought this book whilst browsing a bookstore at Chicago airport. The first couple of pages looked promising...amusing main character and intriguing opening chapter. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2001
disappointing.
I am a great fan of Kureishi, a unique and often brilliant writer. I read this when it came out and could not get to grips with it at all. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2000
Some of the best stories I've ever read.
He's got style, but not in any exagerated sense. And anyway its the material that grabs you. Very human- the material, his characters aren't so much out of the ordinary, but... Read more
Published on 26 Jan 1999
Nineties British multi-culturalism and confusion
This is another fine book from Hanif Kureishi who seems above
all to be honest in what he writes; sufficiently non-literary
to appeal to a wide audience and yet... Read more
all to be honest in what he writes; sufficiently non-literary
to appeal to a wide audience and yet... Read more
Published on 5 Sep 1996
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