Review
'An entertaining portrayal of late-adolescent angst and musical ineptitude, Coconut Unlimited will have a broad appeal not limited merely to those who are nostalgic for high-tops and a time when Skee-Lo's "I Wish I Was a Little Bit Taller" was still in the charts.' GQ, October 2010
'...a riot of cringeworthy moments made real by Shukla's beautifully observed characters and talent for teen banter.' Metro, October 2010
'Energetic, tender and fizzing with some hilariously awful rapping.' The Word, November 2010
'Without attempting to smack you in the face with originality (or whatever else new writers think they need to do to get attention), it manages to be heartfelt and an utter pleasure to spend time with. Indeed, it's hard to imagine anyone being anything other than charmed by Shukla's endlessly readable prose. Possibly the most fun this writer has had with new fiction this year.' Bookmunch, November 2010
'Funny and irreverent.' Guardian, December 2010
'...a riot of cringeworthy moments made real by Shukla's beautifully observed characters and talent for teen banter.' Metro, October 2010
'Energetic, tender and fizzing with some hilariously awful rapping.' The Word, November 2010
'Without attempting to smack you in the face with originality (or whatever else new writers think they need to do to get attention), it manages to be heartfelt and an utter pleasure to spend time with. Indeed, it's hard to imagine anyone being anything other than charmed by Shukla's endlessly readable prose. Possibly the most fun this writer has had with new fiction this year.' Bookmunch, November 2010
'Funny and irreverent.' Guardian, December 2010
Product Description
Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2010. It's Harrow in the 1990s, and Amit, Anand and Nishant are stuck. Their peers think they're a bunch of try-hard 'darkies', acting street and pretending to be cool, while their community thinks they're rich toffs, a long way from the 'real' Asians in Southall. So, to keep it real, they form legendary hip-hop band 'Coconut Unlimited'. Pity they can't rap. From struggling to find records in the suburbs and rehearsing on rubbish equipment, to evading the clutches of disapproving parents and real life drug-dealing gangsters, Coconut Unlimited documents every teenage boy's dream and the motivations behind it: being in a band to look pretty cool - oh, and get girls...
