- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Virago Press Ltd (3 April 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1844082695
- ISBN-13: 978-1844082698
- Product Dimensions: 22 x 14 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 616,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
** 'Yasmin is an absolute star, one of the most gifted people I've worked with' JON SNOW
Spectator
'An unbelievably funny, passionate autobiography.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Yasmin Hai has written a funny, honest account of growing up as an Asian girl in Britain. The sources of her particular anxieties are conveyed as tiny, vivid snippets of life that are described with the exquisite precision and clarity of a Vermeer painting. We are direct witnesses to the Hai family's project of "becoming British" and feel the heady mix of pride and shame, acceptance and rejection and rebellion and family-inflicted guilt that are an inescapable part of this process. By the end of the book, we feel that our thoughtful young protagonist is finally making her way through the outrageous complexities of British society through a combination of intelligence, wit and a strong sense of humor. This book is highly recommended!
Format:Hardcover
It was and unrealistic representation of a typical second generation Asian immigrants upbringing. Usually I enjoy books regarding culture and identity however this was the biggest load of rubbish I've read to date. There is no purpose to Hai's writing except to portray how "white" she thinks she is and also a lot of self pity. Her opinion that `you can not be Muslim and British' not only is insulting to Muslims but also to many British people as she blames them for her STUPID confusion between culture and religion. I can not believe I wasted 8 hours of my life on this hoping that there might be some redeeming feature but there was not. Please avoid it, it is just an annoying trashy `autobiography' full of self pity and big headedness.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A compelling read for me.
As a half-Indian born in Britain, I can connect the people and their attitudes in the book to ones I have also experienced; from Yasmin's father's with overzealous aspirations to embrace what he thought was Britishness, to the obedient wife, and also the second generation British who start to reject their parents modern western attitudes.
These themes are not reserved solely for the British Desi population, these themes will be found in all migrant cultures (with the exception of most Brits retiring to the Costa Blanca), and so I hope that the book will be embraced by a wide audience.
As a half-Indian born in Britain, I can connect the people and their attitudes in the book to ones I have also experienced; from Yasmin's father's with overzealous aspirations to embrace what he thought was Britishness, to the obedient wife, and also the second generation British who start to reject their parents modern western attitudes.
These themes are not reserved solely for the British Desi population, these themes will be found in all migrant cultures (with the exception of most Brits retiring to the Costa Blanca), and so I hope that the book will be embraced by a wide audience.
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