Unlike anything you've ever read, 09 Apr 2008
A fair and balanced review would conclude that if you are conservative minded, prudish, not interested in music/popular culture and too sensitive to palate Asians engaging in homosexuality and drugs then the Buddha of Suburbia will hold no interest and maybe even repulse.
However if you're progressive & open minded in outlook, have a sense of humour, appreciate pop music/pop culture while also interested in the socio/political climate of late 1970s Britain and beyond, then this is the book for you - regardless of whether you're a `self-proclaimed liberal' or anything else. (Reviewed by a British Asian who could in fact relate to the book).

Don't waste your money..., 29 Nov 2007
It's one of those books that's received more acclaim than it deserves, the reasons why it receives any acclaim at all leave me at somewhat of a loss. Whilst the book is averagely well written it lacks any insight and portrays a poor understanding of what growing up for ethnic children was like. The characters are poorly fleshed out and thoroughly dislikeable. The story line is weak to non-existent and the book is thoroughly pretentious throughout. I really can't see what attracted people to reading this at all. I think only those who are self proclaimed liberals and think there's something fashionable about being ethnic will enjoy this. Everybody else, stay away.

A classy book about class, 06 Jul 2007
A very well-written and interesting account on life in the late 70's London, seen through the eyes of Karim; half English, half Indian. It all starts with his Indian dad having an affair with Eva, a charismatic and bohemian woman from his writing group. This leaves Karim's family in ruins and as the story develops Karim tries to come to terms with it all. After all he likes Eva, and her rock star son, Charlie.

Karim is eager to explore life to the max through explicit living; sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He gets some kind of direction though when Eva introduces him to a theatre director and he embarks on an acting career.

Parallel to the story about Karim's family runs the story about Anwar's family. Anwar is an old friend of Karim's dad and runs a shop with his wife Jeeta and daughter Jamilla, who is very rebellious. But Jamilla is forced into a marriage with an Indian man, which doesn't develop as Anwar wishes.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and you feel a lot of warmth for them. The political struggle between the different classes is also very well portrayed via middle-class arty-farties and suburban activist groups. Kureishi succeeds in guiding the reader from flowery hippies to hard core punks without being judgmental.


Not what I expected, 02 Jun 2007
I have only just read this book, having missed reading it when it was first published. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny and I giggled aloud several times while reading it. It tells the story of Karim, a young Asian lad trying to grow up in England. His attitude to his family, particularly his mum and dad, is really entertaining. I found the book more entertaining as it went on. Kureshi has a really informal writing style which could be under rated because it seems so casual and effortless. I found myself re reading some sentences and paragraphs several times because they had been so cleverly constructed - seemingly artlessly.
I would recommend this book for an uplifting, entertaining read.

An exceptional novel, 19 Aug 2006
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is truly an exceptional novel about the 70;s decade in London. This is the decade when the hip culture developed and immigrants settled in UK. The novel is beatifully narratted and gives the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the 70's. Hanif Kureishi is a talent writer, but I feel a little underratted.

Unlike anything you've ever read, 09 Apr 2008
A fair and balanced review would conclude that if you are conservative minded, prudish, not interested in music/popular culture and too sensitive to palate Asians engaging in homosexuality and drugs then the Buddha of Suburbia will hold no interest and maybe even repulse.
However if you're progressive & open minded in outlook, have a sense of humour, appreciate pop music/pop culture while also interested in the socio/political climate of late 1970s Britain and beyond, then this is the book for you - regardless of whether you're a `self-proclaimed liberal' or anything else. (Reviewed by a British Asian who could in fact relate to the book).

Don't waste your money..., 29 Nov 2007
It's one of those books that's received more acclaim than it deserves, the reasons why it receives any acclaim at all leave me at somewhat of a loss. Whilst the book is averagely well written it lacks any insight and portrays a poor understanding of what growing up for ethnic children was like. The characters are poorly fleshed out and thoroughly dislikeable. The story line is weak to non-existent and the book is thoroughly pretentious throughout. I really can't see what attracted people to reading this at all. I think only those who are self proclaimed liberals and think there's something fashionable about being ethnic will enjoy this. Everybody else, stay away.

A classy book about class, 06 Jul 2007
A very well-written and interesting account on life in the late 70's London, seen through the eyes of Karim; half English, half Indian. It all starts with his Indian dad having an affair with Eva, a charismatic and bohemian woman from his writing group. This leaves Karim's family in ruins and as the story develops Karim tries to come to terms with it all. After all he likes Eva, and her rock star son, Charlie.

Karim is eager to explore life to the max through explicit living; sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He gets some kind of direction though when Eva introduces him to a theatre director and he embarks on an acting career.

Parallel to the story about Karim's family runs the story about Anwar's family. Anwar is an old friend of Karim's dad and runs a shop with his wife Jeeta and daughter Jamilla, who is very rebellious. But Jamilla is forced into a marriage with an Indian man, which doesn't develop as Anwar wishes.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and you feel a lot of warmth for them. The political struggle between the different classes is also very well portrayed via middle-class arty-farties and suburban activist groups. Kureishi succeeds in guiding the reader from flowery hippies to hard core punks without being judgmental.


Not what I expected, 02 Jun 2007
I have only just read this book, having missed reading it when it was first published. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny and I giggled aloud several times while reading it. It tells the story of Karim, a young Asian lad trying to grow up in England. His attitude to his family, particularly his mum and dad, is really entertaining. I found the book more entertaining as it went on. Kureshi has a really informal writing style which could be under rated because it seems so casual and effortless. I found myself re reading some sentences and paragraphs several times because they had been so cleverly constructed - seemingly artlessly.
I would recommend this book for an uplifting, entertaining read.

An exceptional novel, 19 Aug 2006
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is truly an exceptional novel about the 70;s decade in London. This is the decade when the hip culture developed and immigrants settled in UK. The novel is beatifully narratted and gives the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the 70's. Hanif Kureishi is a talent writer, but I feel a little underratted.

Alright, still..., 27 Nov 2008
Hanif Kureishi is an author of our life and times - in the main writing fiction - recording popular culture - contemporary living with all its fashions and fads.
He captures the multi-class, multi-cultural multi-lifestyles of folk who inhabit his view of swinging London and cool Britannia.
He writes with a pleasing extravagance as he reels off the mayhem and (mis)adventures of his characters.
In my reading and viewing of him, he always has done and seemingly always will - and I can't see much wrong with that.
I loved `My Beautiful Launderette' `the Buddha of Suburbia' `London Kills Me' and `Venus'.
`Something to Tell You' is a tragic-comic read of eccentric and extreme characters and their lives in the margins of society from the last quarter of the last century on.
The main characters are baby-boomers coming to terms with their failing powers, missed opportunities, failures, regrets - some secrets and some crimes.
Each it seems is struggling with mid to late life crisis and haunted by their individual and collective past.
Personal entanglements and encounters.
To me Kureishi captures the pantomime of the generation - intertwines fact with fiction and twists it into a real, entertaining romp.
Alternative lifestyles amplified.
I love his easy style and enjoy his wit and the aplomb with which he delivers this story.
It makes me smile.
If you can park the author's previous works and your expectations too and read the book for what it is, not what you want it to be - it may even make you smile too.









What's new? - not a lot., 30 May 2008
Sadly this seems to me an oh-too familiar depiction of Kureishi characters, bohemiam intellectuals, disparate deadbeats, immigrant maunderings, and all else in between; throw in some sexual deviancy of the bum variety toking on an ample supply of drugs, a few philosophical qoutes, long-winded expostion that completely loses the reader in terms on interest, and one wonders what really is the point? From the slide of Gabriel's Gift it's hard to see a way back for Kureishi - this from a fan who's read it all, and will probably stop from here on in; or, perhaps, read his old stuff, it'll amount to the same either way. To write well about one's heritage, culture, set in a postmodernist melting pot, one needs more than wowee! strange characters laboriously described via a psychological A-Z of deviancy and psychosis. One needs to be able to write as well as Philip Roth or Saul Bellow; Kureishi will be the first to admit he could and never will live up to either. The question is, what he will live up to if not the same old glories regurgitated.

Fascinating yet unconvincing, 28 May 2008
I was so much looking forward to reading this book. After all, it was Hanif Kureishi and the main character, Jamal, is a psychoanalyst with a secret. However, although I quite enjoyed the story and the writing style, I was disappointed by the gaps in the novel that left me wondering if I had missed some explanation or important information. If we, as the readers, are supposed to understand better what Jamal is all about by focusing on what J chooses to leave out of his story then somehow this was lost on me. It was, though, a fascinating account of a world of drugs, intellectuals, celebrities so I would recommend this book to anyone who is drawn to a read set against this backdrop.

Gentrification of the fetish scene..?, 21 Mar 2008
I'm thoroughly enjoying this novel.
The characters are well observed and believable, as is the London they all inhabit - despite an error regarding the location of the Astoria. Only Michael Bracewell can really challenge this author when it comes to observing and commenting upon the social and cultural circuitry of London life '...unless you had cachet, social progress in London could be slow, painful and futile.' Indeed, the culture/class clash at the centre of the action is what keeps things interesting and fresh in this novel.

The first novel to detect and comment upon the Bizarre magazine/Torture Garden-instigated gentrification of the fetish scene that seems to be occuring right now?



Sex and high culture, 17 Mar 2008
A great fan of Hanif Kureishi, I found this latest book deeply disappointing. Unbelievable characters, stilted dialogue. In real life the protagonist - Jamal, the psychoanalyst - would be barred from his profession. A mix of high culture and graphic sex, Alan Hollinghurst for straights.

Hanif Kureishi's latest novel made many reviewers uneasy on its first appearance, because it cuts so painfully near to the bone. If a novelist's first duty is to tell the truth, then Kureishi has done his duty with unflinching courage. Intimacy gives us the thoughts and memories of a middle-aged writer on the night before he walks out on his wife and two young sons, in favour of a younger woman. A very modern man, without political convictions or religious beliefs, he vaguely hopes to find fulfilment in sexual love. No-one is spared Kureishi's cold, penetrating gaze or lacerating pen. "She thinks she's feminist, but she's just bad- tempered," he says of his abandoned wife. A male friend advises him, "Marriage is a battle, a terrible journey, a season in hell and a reason for living."

At the heart of the novel is this terrible paradox: "You don't stop loving someone just because you hate them." Male readers will wince with recognition at the narrator's hatred of entrapment and domesticity, and his implacable urge towards freedom, escape, even loneliness. Female readers may find it a truly horrific revelation. Kureishi is only telling it like it is, in staccato sentences of pinpoint accuracy. By far the author's best yet: a brilliant, devastating work. --Christopher Hart

Unlike anything you've ever read, 09 Apr 2008
A fair and balanced review would conclude that if you are conservative minded, prudish, not interested in music/popular culture and too sensitive to palate Asians engaging in homosexuality and drugs then the Buddha of Suburbia will hold no interest and maybe even repulse.
However if you're progressive & open minded in outlook, have a sense of humour, appreciate pop music/pop culture while also interested in the socio/political climate of late 1970s Britain and beyond, then this is the book for you - regardless of whether you're a `self-proclaimed liberal' or anything else. (Reviewed by a British Asian who could in fact relate to the book).

Don't waste your money..., 29 Nov 2007
It's one of those books that's received more acclaim than it deserves, the reasons why it receives any acclaim at all leave me at somewhat of a loss. Whilst the book is averagely well written it lacks any insight and portrays a poor understanding of what growing up for ethnic children was like. The characters are poorly fleshed out and thoroughly dislikeable. The story line is weak to non-existent and the book is thoroughly pretentious throughout. I really can't see what attracted people to reading this at all. I think only those who are self proclaimed liberals and think there's something fashionable about being ethnic will enjoy this. Everybody else, stay away.

A classy book about class, 06 Jul 2007
A very well-written and interesting account on life in the late 70's London, seen through the eyes of Karim; half English, half Indian. It all starts with his Indian dad having an affair with Eva, a charismatic and bohemian woman from his writing group. This leaves Karim's family in ruins and as the story develops Karim tries to come to terms with it all. After all he likes Eva, and her rock star son, Charlie.

Karim is eager to explore life to the max through explicit living; sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He gets some kind of direction though when Eva introduces him to a theatre director and he embarks on an acting career.

Parallel to the story about Karim's family runs the story about Anwar's family. Anwar is an old friend of Karim's dad and runs a shop with his wife Jeeta and daughter Jamilla, who is very rebellious. But Jamilla is forced into a marriage with an Indian man, which doesn't develop as Anwar wishes.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and you feel a lot of warmth for them. The political struggle between the different classes is also very well portrayed via middle-class arty-farties and suburban activist groups. Kureishi succeeds in guiding the reader from flowery hippies to hard core punks without being judgmental.


Not what I expected, 02 Jun 2007
I have only just read this book, having missed reading it when it was first published. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny and I giggled aloud several times while reading it. It tells the story of Karim, a young Asian lad trying to grow up in England. His attitude to his family, particularly his mum and dad, is really entertaining. I found the book more entertaining as it went on. Kureshi has a really informal writing style which could be under rated because it seems so casual and effortless. I found myself re reading some sentences and paragraphs several times because they had been so cleverly constructed - seemingly artlessly.
I would recommend this book for an uplifting, entertaining read.

An exceptional novel, 19 Aug 2006
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is truly an exceptional novel about the 70;s decade in London. This is the decade when the hip culture developed and immigrants settled in UK. The novel is beatifully narratted and gives the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the 70's. Hanif Kureishi is a talent writer, but I feel a little underratted.

Alright, still..., 27 Nov 2008
Hanif Kureishi is an author of our life and times - in the main writing fiction - recording popular culture - contemporary living with all its fashions and fads.
He captures the multi-class, multi-cultural multi-lifestyles of folk who inhabit his view of swinging London and cool Britannia.
He writes with a pleasing extravagance as he reels off the mayhem and (mis)adventures of his characters.
In my reading and viewing of him, he always has done and seemingly always will - and I can't see much wrong with that.
I loved `My Beautiful Launderette' `the Buddha of Suburbia' `London Kills Me' and `Venus'.
`Something to Tell You' is a tragic-comic read of eccentric and extreme characters and their lives in the margins of society from the last quarter of the last century on.
The main characters are baby-boomers coming to terms with their failing powers, missed opportunities, failures, regrets - some secrets and some crimes.
Each it seems is struggling with mid to late life crisis and haunted by their individual and collective past.
Personal entanglements and encounters.
To me Kureishi captures the pantomime of the generation - intertwines fact with fiction and twists it into a real, entertaining romp.
Alternative lifestyles amplified.
I love his easy style and enjoy his wit and the aplomb with which he delivers this story.
It makes me smile.
If you can park the author's previous works and your expectations too and read the book for what it is, not what you want it to be - it may even make you smile too.









What's new? - not a lot., 30 May 2008
Sadly this seems to me an oh-too familiar depiction of Kureishi characters, bohemiam intellectuals, disparate deadbeats, immigrant maunderings, and all else in between; throw in some sexual deviancy of the bum variety toking on an ample supply of drugs, a few philosophical qoutes, long-winded expostion that completely loses the reader in terms on interest, and one wonders what really is the point? From the slide of Gabriel's Gift it's hard to see a way back for Kureishi - this from a fan who's read it all, and will probably stop from here on in; or, perhaps, read his old stuff, it'll amount to the same either way. To write well about one's heritage, culture, set in a postmodernist melting pot, one needs more than wowee! strange characters laboriously described via a psychological A-Z of deviancy and psychosis. One needs to be able to write as well as Philip Roth or Saul Bellow; Kureishi will be the first to admit he could and never will live up to either. The question is, what he will live up to if not the same old glories regurgitated.

Fascinating yet unconvincing, 28 May 2008
I was so much looking forward to reading this book. After all, it was Hanif Kureishi and the main character, Jamal, is a psychoanalyst with a secret. However, although I quite enjoyed the story and the writing style, I was disappointed by the gaps in the novel that left me wondering if I had missed some explanation or important information. If we, as the readers, are supposed to understand better what Jamal is all about by focusing on what J chooses to leave out of his story then somehow this was lost on me. It was, though, a fascinating account of a world of drugs, intellectuals, celebrities so I would recommend this book to anyone who is drawn to a read set against this backdrop.

Gentrification of the fetish scene..?, 21 Mar 2008
I'm thoroughly enjoying this novel.
The characters are well observed and believable, as is the London they all inhabit - despite an error regarding the location of the Astoria. Only Michael Bracewell can really challenge this author when it comes to observing and commenting upon the social and cultural circuitry of London life '...unless you had cachet, social progress in London could be slow, painful and futile.' Indeed, the culture/class clash at the centre of the action is what keeps things interesting and fresh in this novel.

The first novel to detect and comment upon the Bizarre magazine/Torture Garden-instigated gentrification of the fetish scene that seems to be occuring right now?



Sex and high culture, 17 Mar 2008
A great fan of Hanif Kureishi, I found this latest book deeply disappointing. Unbelievable characters, stilted dialogue. In real life the protagonist - Jamal, the psychoanalyst - would be barred from his profession. A mix of high culture and graphic sex, Alan Hollinghurst for straights.

a little life changer, 15 Aug 2008
whether you agree with Kureishi's ironic negative take on life, theres no getting away from the fact that this book rings very true to life today and the opinions within it, speak from the very edge. It's as much a work of philosophy as it is of fiction. Rates alongside Kundera and Houllebeqc as a book of ideas, but unlike both is grounded in a narrtaive world that is utterly real. terrifying and real.

Honesty and integrity if not sympathy, 30 Apr 2008
I loved this book.I am a 40 something now happily married guy and yet can sadly recognise some if not all of the musings and conflicts of Jay, and believe many others (and not just men ) could do the same.Some reviewers have said this is an uncomfortable read ....it is...but none the less enjoyable for that.
Highly recommended to those who can take some self criticsism and be prepared to look at themselves in the mirror!!!

Poignant take on the break down of a relationship , 03 Feb 2008
My God ... midlife crisis and some. This novella shows the dark side of the male pysche in technicolour. Written in the first person ... it is an interesting, if introspective, polemic. The central protagonist has given little thought to what he wants from his life, family or relationship. He is a man who seems to have drifted into something without really reflecting upon the long term consequences. Well written, realistic - if not a little hopeless.

a must read, 08 Feb 2006
picked it up at an airport per chance 6 years ago - and since remains one of my all time favorite books. simplistically written yet powerfully insightful. each sentence is thought provoking. it demonstrates the strength and weakness of the human psyche - how easily we can adapt to any change - even if it means disconnecting from reality - yet how difficult it is for us to reconnect.

you want to hate the protagonist - yet you forgive him because he is so acutely self-aware.

The way we live now, 04 Dec 2004
Every sentence is honest and wise. It's a man's book, and at last. We've had enough of female sensitivity and whining feminism. "Intimacy" is about how we live now, and about how we must never give up the pursuit of happiness.

Unlike anything you've ever read, 09 Apr 2008
A fair and balanced review would conclude that if you are conservative minded, prudish, not interested in music/popular culture and too sensitive to palate Asians engaging in homosexuality and drugs then the Buddha of Suburbia will hold no interest and maybe even repulse.
However if you're progressive & open minded in outlook, have a sense of humour, appreciate pop music/pop culture while also interested in the socio/political climate of late 1970s Britain and beyond, then this is the book for you - regardless of whether you're a `self-proclaimed liberal' or anything else. (Reviewed by a British Asian who could in fact relate to the book).

Don't waste your money..., 29 Nov 2007
It's one of those books that's received more acclaim than it deserves, the reasons why it receives any acclaim at all leave me at somewhat of a loss. Whilst the book is averagely well written it lacks any insight and portrays a poor understanding of what growing up for ethnic children was like. The characters are poorly fleshed out and thoroughly dislikeable. The story line is weak to non-existent and the book is thoroughly pretentious throughout. I really can't see what attracted people to reading this at all. I think only those who are self proclaimed liberals and think there's something fashionable about being ethnic will enjoy this. Everybody else, stay away.

A classy book about class, 06 Jul 2007
A very well-written and interesting account on life in the late 70's London, seen through the eyes of Karim; half English, half Indian. It all starts with his Indian dad having an affair with Eva, a charismatic and bohemian woman from his writing group. This leaves Karim's family in ruins and as the story develops Karim tries to come to terms with it all. After all he likes Eva, and her rock star son, Charlie.

Karim is eager to explore life to the max through explicit living; sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He gets some kind of direction though when Eva introduces him to a theatre director and he embarks on an acting career.

Parallel to the story about Karim's family runs the story about Anwar's family. Anwar is an old friend of Karim's dad and runs a shop with his wife Jeeta and daughter Jamilla, who is very rebellious. But Jamilla is forced into a marriage with an Indian man, which doesn't develop as Anwar wishes.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and you feel a lot of warmth for them. The political struggle between the different classes is also very well portrayed via middle-class arty-farties and suburban activist groups. Kureishi succeeds in guiding the reader from flowery hippies to hard core punks without being judgmental.


Not what I expected, 02 Jun 2007
I have only just read this book, having missed reading it when it was first published. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny and I giggled aloud several times while reading it. It tells the story of Karim, a young Asian lad trying to grow up in England. His attitude to his family, particularly his mum and dad, is really entertaining. I found the book more entertaining as it went on. Kureshi has a really informal writing style which could be under rated because it seems so casual and effortless. I found myself re reading some sentences and paragraphs several times because they had been so cleverly constructed - seemingly artlessly.
I would recommend this book for an uplifting, entertaining read.

An exceptional novel, 19 Aug 2006
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is truly an exceptional novel about the 70;s decade in London. This is the decade when the hip culture developed and immigrants settled in UK. The novel is beatifully narratted and gives the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the 70's. Hanif Kureishi is a talent writer, but I feel a little underratted.

Alright, still..., 27 Nov 2008
Hanif Kureishi is an author of our life and times - in the main writing fiction - recording popular culture - contemporary living with all its fashions and fads.
He captures the multi-class, multi-cultural multi-lifestyles of folk who inhabit his view of swinging London and cool Britannia.
He writes with a pleasing extravagance as he reels off the mayhem and (mis)adventures of his characters.
In my reading and viewing of him, he always has done and seemingly always will - and I can't see much wrong with that.
I loved `My Beautiful Launderette' `the Buddha of Suburbia' `London Kills Me' and `Venus'.
`Something to Tell You' is a tragic-comic read of eccentric and extreme characters and their lives in the margins of society from the last quarter of the last century on.
The main characters are baby-boomers coming to terms with their failing powers, missed opportunities, failures, regrets - some secrets and some crimes.
Each it seems is struggling with mid to late life crisis and haunted by their individual and collective past.
Personal entanglements and encounters.
To me Kureishi captures the pantomime of the generation - intertwines fact with fiction and twists it into a real, entertaining romp.
Alternative lifestyles amplified.
I love his easy style and enjoy his wit and the aplomb with which he delivers this story.
It makes me smile.
If you can park the author's previous works and your expectations too and read the book for what it is, not what you want it to be - it may even make you smile too.









What's new? - not a lot., 30 May 2008
Sadly this seems to me an oh-too familiar depiction of Kureishi characters, bohemiam intellectuals, disparate deadbeats, immigrant maunderings, and all else in between; throw in some sexual deviancy of the bum variety toking on an ample supply of drugs, a few philosophical qoutes, long-winded expostion that completely loses the reader in terms on interest, and one wonders what really is the point? From the slide of Gabriel's Gift it's hard to see a way back for Kureishi - this from a fan who's read it all, and will probably stop from here on in; or, perhaps, read his old stuff, it'll amount to the same either way. To write well about one's heritage, culture, set in a postmodernist melting pot, one needs more than wowee! strange characters laboriously described via a psychological A-Z of deviancy and psychosis. One needs to be able to write as well as Philip Roth or Saul Bellow; Kureishi will be the first to admit he could and never will live up to either. The question is, what he will live up to if not the same old glories regurgitated.

Fascinating yet unconvincing, 28 May 2008
I was so much looking forward to reading this book. After all, it was Hanif Kureishi and the main character, Jamal, is a psychoanalyst with a secret. However, although I quite enjoyed the story and the writing style, I was disappointed by the gaps in the novel that left me wondering if I had missed some explanation or important information. If we, as the readers, are supposed to understand better what Jamal is all about by focusing on what J chooses to leave out of his story then somehow this was lost on me. It was, though, a fascinating account of a world of drugs, intellectuals, celebrities so I would recommend this book to anyone who is drawn to a read set against this backdrop.

Gentrification of the fetish scene..?, 21 Mar 2008
I'm thoroughly enjoying this novel.
The characters are well observed and believable, as is the London they all inhabit - despite an error regarding the location of the Astoria. Only Michael Bracewell can really challenge this author when it comes to observing and commenting upon the social and cultural circuitry of London life '...unless you had cachet, social progress in London could be slow, painful and futile.' Indeed, the culture/class clash at the centre of the action is what keeps things interesting and fresh in this novel.

The first novel to detect and comment upon the Bizarre magazine/Torture Garden-instigated gentrification of the fetish scene that seems to be occuring right now?



Sex and high culture, 17 Mar 2008
A great fan of Hanif Kureishi, I found this latest book deeply disappointing. Unbelievable characters, stilted dialogue. In real life the protagonist - Jamal, the psychoanalyst - would be barred from his profession. A mix of high culture and graphic sex, Alan Hollinghurst for straights.

a little life changer, 15 Aug 2008
whether you agree with Kureishi's ironic negative take on life, theres no getting away from the fact that this book rings very true to life today and the opinions within it, speak from the very edge. It's as much a work of philosophy as it is of fiction. Rates alongside Kundera and Houllebeqc as a book of ideas, but unlike both is grounded in a narrtaive world that is utterly real. terrifying and real.

Honesty and integrity if not sympathy, 30 Apr 2008
I loved this book.I am a 40 something now happily married guy and yet can sadly recognise some if not all of the musings and conflicts of Jay, and believe many others (and not just men ) could do the same.Some reviewers have said this is an uncomfortable read ....it is...but none the less enjoyable for that.
Highly recommended to those who can take some self criticsism and be prepared to look at themselves in the mirror!!!

Poignant take on the break down of a relationship , 03 Feb 2008
My God ... midlife crisis and some. This novella shows the dark side of the male pysche in technicolour. Written in the first person ... it is an interesting, if introspective, polemic. The central protagonist has given little thought to what he wants from his life, family or relationship. He is a man who seems to have drifted into something without really reflecting upon the long term consequences. Well written, realistic - if not a little hopeless.

a must read, 08 Feb 2006
picked it up at an airport per chance 6 years ago - and since remains one of my all time favorite books. simplistically written yet powerfully insightful. each sentence is thought provoking. it demonstrates the strength and weakness of the human psyche - how easily we can adapt to any change - even if it means disconnecting from reality - yet how difficult it is for us to reconnect.

you want to hate the protagonist - yet you forgive him because he is so acutely self-aware.

The way we live now, 04 Dec 2004
Every sentence is honest and wise. It's a man's book, and at last. We've had enough of female sensitivity and whining feminism. "Intimacy" is about how we live now, and about how we must never give up the pursuit of happiness.

SPLIT LOYALTIES, 19 Sep 2007
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 the main character's personal struggles Kureishi revisits territory familiar from his film-script "My Beautiful Laundrette" and his debut novel "The Buddha of Suburbia". A highly relevant story on multi-culturalism and the 'state of the nation' during the Thatcher years, focusing on relations between races and the predicament of British youth. More specifically it engages with the controversies surrounding the imposition of the fatwa on Salman Rushdie in 1989. Pre-occupied with popular culture and music, the novel takes it title from an album by Prince. Price is a key symbol within the text of the enabling potential of cultural hybridism in expanding received models of national and ethnic identity, thus challenging the fundamentalist of metropolitan racism and 3rd world politics alike. Recommended read!

Islam-ain't-bad, 20 Sep 2006
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. The driving force is the tension between the pull of the sensual, liberal ideals of the west, and the weight of traditional Islamic expectations. Suavely intelligent as always, Kureshi's themes have never been more relevant.


An intelligent amusing book about cultural identity, 01 Jan 2005
I loved this book and found it well written and pertinent to many of the issues of a multicultural society. It addresses the problems of growing up as a British Asian and the tension between traditional and liberal values. It is very relevant to these days of cultural antagonism and also very amusing and touching. I think everyone should read this book. The plot is not confusing and the story is relevant to our times.

Rushdie without prentention, 14 Jul 2003
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. It lacked some of the lightness and humour which I really liked in "The Buddha..."

Still, this is a fine novel about identity and multiculturalism. Clever, straightforward, sparkling.

Kureishi at his most optimistic and enjoyable, 29 Jun 2001
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 sexual love. It is Kureishi at his most effortless and in many ways superior to "The Buddha of Suburbia" - much sunnier in outlook than his later work.

Hanif Kureishi's previous book, Intimacy--an account of the writer's abandonment of his marriage--divided critical opinion violently, but the novel's unsparing honesty marked it as one of Kureishi's best works, with an excoriating, spiky cussedness that sidestepped the wheedling self-justifications of most "confessional" books. Midnight All Day, his new collection of short stories, continues his exploration of the irrational impulses of desire. Some of the protagonists here seem to be barely disguised avatars of the author, as if Kureishi had felt compelled to go over the earlier material obsessively, from different angles, through different voices: a prismatic opening up of the emotional complexity of Intimacy (the book is alluded to in the first story; elsewhere there are uneasy discussions about the ethics of writing). There is a clinical quality to his observations, an anatomisation born not of indifference but of fascinated curiosity at the perplexing disarray of human relationships, the shifts from desperate need to boredom, the uneasy fragility of the alliances that lovers make: "We are unerring in our choice of lovers, particularly when we require the wrong person. There is an instinct, magnet or aerial which seeks the unsuitable. The wrong person is, of course, right for something--to punish, bully or humiliate us, let us down, leave us for dead, or, worst of all , give us the impression that they are not inappropriate, but almost right, thus hanging us in love's limbo."

He perhaps shows in these stories that what he has always been interested in is the unfathomable pitch of sexuality-- ultimately idiosyncratic and endlessly fascinating, a chaotic accumulation of people's myriad specific needs, anxieties and desires.

Kureishi has moved away from the more obviously politicised terrain of earlier work, though elegiac glimpses of it surface occasionally, ruminations on the wake of idealism. If the long years of Thatcherism made a kind of political writing unavoidable, the 90s has seen a shift of focus to the landscape within, to what we are as men or women. This selfishness stems from a recognition of the inability ever to know the other. ("If falling in lov e could only be a glimpse of the other, who was the passion really directed at?") What remains is the search for gratification and the scrutiny of one's own impulses, an alternation between compulsion and a need for freedom.

The final story, "The Penis", is an unsubtle reworking of Gogol's "The Nose". It is as if, after all the analysis, Kureishi is despairing of ever reaching a better understanding of love: all that's left is one man and his dick, in uneasy alliance. --Burhan Tufail Hanif Kureishi's previous book, Intimacy--an account of the writer's abandonment of his marriage--divided critical opinion violently, but the novel's unsparing honesty marked it as one of Kureishi's best works, with an excoriating, spiky cussedness that sidestepped the wheedling self-justifications of most "confessional" books. Midnight All Day, his new collection of short stories, continues his exploration of the irrational impulses of desire. Some of the protagonists here seem to be barely disguised avatars of the author, as if Kureishi had felt compelled to go over the earlier material obsessively, from different angles, through different voices: a prismatic opening up of the emotional complexity of Intimacy (the book is alluded to in the first story; elsewhere there are uneasy discussions about the ethics of writing). There is a clinical quality to his observations, an anatomisation born not of indifference but of fascinated curiosity at the perplexing disarray of human relationships, the shifts from desperate need to boredom, the uneasy fragility of the alliances that lovers make: "We are unerring in our choice of lovers, particularly when we require the wrong person. There is an instinct, magnet or aerial which seeks the unsuitable. The wrong person is, of course, right for something--to punish, bully or humiliate us, let us down, leave us for dead, or, worst of all, give us the impression that they are not inappropriate, but almost right, thus hanging us in love's limbo."

He perhaps shows in these stories that what he has always been interested in is the unfathomable pitch of sexuality-- ultimately idiosyncratic and endlessly fascinating, a chaotic accumulation of people's myriad specific needs, anxieties and desires.

Kureishi has moved away from the more obviously politicised terrain of earlier work, though elegiac glimpses of it surface occasionally, ruminations on the wake of idealism. If the long years of Thatcherism made a kind of political writing unavoidable, the 90s has seen a shift of focus to the landscape within, to what we are as men or women. This selfishness stems from a recognition of the inability ever to know the other. ("If falling in love could only be a glimpse of the other, who was the passion really directed at?") What remains is the search for gratification and the scrutiny of one's own impulses, an alternation between compulsion and a need for freedom.

The final story, "The Penis", is an unsubtle reworking of Gogol's "The Nose". It is as if, after all the analysis, Kureishi is despairing of ever reaching a better understanding of love: all that's left is one man and his dick, in uneasy alliance. --Burhan Tufail

Unlike anything you've ever read, 09 Apr 2008
A fair and balanced review would conclude that if you are conservative minded, prudish, not interested in music/popular culture and too sensitive to palate Asians engaging in homosexuality and drugs then the Buddha of Suburbia will hold no interest and maybe even repulse.
However if you're progressive & open minded in outlook, have a sense of humour, appreciate pop music/pop culture while also interested in the socio/political climate of late 1970s Britain and beyond, then this is the book for you - regardless of whether you're a `self-proclaimed liberal' or anything else. (Reviewed by a British Asian who could in fact relate to the book).

Don't waste your money..., 29 Nov 2007
It's one of those books that's received more acclaim than it deserves, the reasons why it receives any acclaim at all leave me at somewhat of a loss. Whilst the book is averagely well written it lacks any insight and portrays a poor understanding of what growing up for ethnic children was like. The characters are poorly fleshed out and thoroughly dislikeable. The story line is weak to non-existent and the book is thoroughly pretentious throughout. I really can't see what attracted people to reading this at all. I think only those who are self proclaimed liberals and think there's something fashionable about being ethnic will enjoy this. Everybody else, stay away.

A classy book about class, 06 Jul 2007
A very well-written and interesting account on life in the late 70's London, seen through the eyes of Karim; half English, half Indian. It all starts with his Indian dad having an affair with Eva, a charismatic and bohemian woman from his writing group. This leaves Karim's family in ruins and as the story develops Karim tries to come to terms with it all. After all he likes Eva, and her rock star son, Charlie.

Karim is eager to explore life to the max through explicit living; sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He gets some kind of direction though when Eva introduces him to a theatre director and he embarks on an acting career.

Parallel to the story about Karim's family runs the story about Anwar's family. Anwar is an old friend of Karim's dad and runs a shop with his wife Jeeta and daughter Jamilla, who is very rebellious. But Jamilla is forced into a marriage with an Indian man, which doesn't develop as Anwar wishes.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and you feel a lot of warmth for them. The political struggle between the different classes is also very well portrayed via middle-class arty-farties and suburban activist groups. Kureishi succeeds in guiding the reader from flowery hippies to hard core punks without being judgmental.


Not what I expected, 02 Jun 2007
I have only just read this book, having missed reading it when it was first published. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny and I giggled aloud several times while reading it. It tells the story of Karim, a young Asian lad trying to grow up in England. His attitude to his family, particularly his mum and dad, is really entertaining. I found the book more entertaining as it went on. Kureshi has a really informal writing style which could be under rated because it seems so casual and effortless. I found myself re reading some sentences and paragraphs several times because they had been so cleverly constructed - seemingly artlessly.
I would recommend this book for an uplifting, entertaining read.

An exceptional novel, 19 Aug 2006
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is truly an exceptional novel about the 70;s decade in London. This is the decade when the hip culture developed and immigrants settled in UK. The novel is beatifully narratted and gives the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the 70's. Hanif Kureishi is a talent writer, but I feel a little underratted.

Alright, still..., 27 Nov 2008
Hanif Kureishi is an author of our life and times - in the main writing fiction - recording popular culture - contemporary living with all its fashions and fads.
He captures the multi-class, multi-cultural multi-lifestyles of folk who inhabit his view of swinging London and cool Britannia.
He writes with a pleasing extravagance as he reels off the mayhem and (mis)adventures of his characters.
In my reading and viewing of him, he always has done and seemingly always will - and I can't see much wrong with that.
I loved `My Beautiful Launderette' `the Buddha of Suburbia' `London Kills Me' and `Venus'.
`Something to Tell You' is a tragic-comic read of eccentric and extreme characters and their lives in the margins of society from the last quarter of the last century on.
The main characters are baby-boomers coming to terms with their failing powers, missed opportunities, failures, regrets - some secrets and some crimes.
Each it seems is struggling with mid to late life crisis and haunted by their individual and collective past.
Personal entanglements and encounters.
To me Kureishi captures the pantomime of the generation - intertwines fact with fiction and twists it into a real, entertaining romp.
Alternative lifestyles amplified.
I love his easy style and enjoy his wit and the aplomb with which he delivers this story.
It makes me smile.
If you can park the author's previous works and your expectations too and read the book for what it is, not what you want it to be - it may even make you smile too.









What's new? - not a lot., 30 May 2008
Sadly this seems to me an oh-too familiar depiction of Kureishi characters, bohemiam intellectuals, disparate deadbeats, immigrant maunderings, and all else in between; throw in some sexual deviancy of the bum variety toking on an ample supply of drugs, a few philosophical qoutes, long-winded expostion that completely loses the reader in terms on interest, and one wonders what really is the point? From the slide of Gabriel's Gift it's hard to see a way back for Kureishi - this from a fan who's read it all, and will probably stop from here on in; or, perhaps, read his old stuff, it'll amount to the same either way. To write well about one's heritage, culture, set in a postmodernist melting pot, one needs more than wowee! strange characters laboriously described via a psychological A-Z of deviancy and psychosis. One needs to be able to write as well as Philip Roth or Saul Bellow; Kureishi will be the first to admit he could and never will live up to either. The question is, what he will live up to if not the same old glories regurgitated.

Fascinating yet unconvincing, 28 May 2008
I was so much looking forward to reading this book. After all, it was Hanif Kureishi and the main character, Jamal, is a psychoanalyst with a secret. However, although I quite enjoyed the story and the writing style, I was disappointed by the gaps in the novel that left me wondering if I had missed some explanation or important information. If we, as the readers, are supposed to understand better what Jamal is all about by focusing on what J chooses to leave out of his story then somehow this was lost on me. It was, though, a fascinating account of a world of drugs, intellectuals, celebrities so I would recommend this book to anyone who is drawn to a read set against this backdrop.

Gentrification of the fetish scene..?, 21 Mar 2008
I'm thoroughly enjoying this novel.
The characters are well observed and believable, as is the London they all inhabit - despite an error regarding the location of the Astoria. Only Michael Bracewell can really challenge this author when it comes to observing and commenting upon the social and cultural circuitry of London life '...unless you had cachet, social progress in London could be slow, painful and futile.' Indeed, the culture/class clash at the centre of the action is what keeps things interesting and fresh in this novel.

The first novel to detect and comment upon the Bizarre magazine/Torture Garden-instigated gentrification of the fetish scene that seems to be occuring right now?



Sex and high culture, 17 Mar 2008
A great fan of Hanif Kureishi, I found this latest book deeply disappointing. Unbelievable characters, stilted dialogue. In real life the protagonist - Jamal, the psychoanalyst - would be barred from his profession. A mix of high culture and graphic sex, Alan Hollinghurst for straights.

a little life changer, 15 Aug 2008
whether you agree with Kureishi's ironic negative take on life, theres no getting away from the fact that this book rings very true to life today and the opinions within it, speak from the very edge. It's as much a work of philosophy as it is of fiction. Rates alongside Kundera and Houllebeqc as a book of ideas, but unlike both is grounded in a narrtaive world that is utterly real. terrifying and real.

Honesty and integrity if not sympathy, 30 Apr 2008
I loved this book.I am a 40 something now happily married guy and yet can sadly recognise some if not all of the musings and conflicts of Jay, and believe many others (and not just men ) could do the same.Some reviewers have said this is an uncomfortable read ....it is...but none the less enjoyable for that.
Highly recommended to those who can take some self criticsism and be prepared to look at themselves in the mirror!!!

Poignant take on the break down of a relationship , 03 Feb 2008
My God ... midlife crisis and some. This novella shows the dark side of the male pysche in technicolour. Written in the first person ... it is an interesting, if introspective, polemic. The central protagonist has given little thought to what he wants from his life, family or relationship. He is a man who seems to have drifted into something without really reflecting upon the long term consequences. Well written, realistic - if not a little hopeless.

a must read, 08 Feb 2006
picked it up at an airport per chance 6 years ago - and since remains one of my all time favorite books. simplistically written yet powerfully insightful. each sentence is thought provoking. it demonstrates the strength and weakness of the human psyche - how easily we can adapt to any change - even if it means disconnecting from reality - yet how difficult it is for us to reconnect.

you want to hate the protagonist - yet you forgive him because he is so acutely self-aware.

The way we live now, 04 Dec 2004
Every sentence is honest and wise. It's a man's book, and at last. We've had enough of female sensitivity and whining feminism. "Intimacy" is about how we live now, and about how we must never give up the pursuit of happiness.

SPLIT LOYALTIES, 19 Sep 2007
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 the main character's personal struggles Kureishi revisits territory familiar from his film-script "My Beautiful Laundrette" and his debut novel "The Buddha of Suburbia". A highly relevant story on multi-culturalism and the 'state of the nation' during the Thatcher years, focusing on relations between races and the predicament of British youth. More specifically it engages with the controversies surrounding the imposition of the fatwa on Salman Rushdie in 1989. Pre-occupied with popular culture and music, the novel takes it title from an album by Prince. Price is a key symbol within the text of the enabling potential of cultural hybridism in expanding received models of national and ethnic identity, thus challenging the fundamentalist of metropolitan racism and 3rd world politics alike. Recommended read!

Islam-ain't-bad, 20 Sep 2006
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. The driving force is the tension between the pull of the sensual, liberal ideals of the west, and the weight of traditional Islamic expectations. Suavely intelligent as always, Kureshi's themes have never been more relevant.


An intelligent amusing book about cultural identity, 01 Jan 2005
I loved this book and found it well written and pertinent to many of the issues of a multicultural society. It addresses the problems of growing up as a British Asian and the tension between traditional and liberal values. It is very relevant to these days of cultural antagonism and also very amusing and touching. I think everyone should read this book. The plot is not confusing and the story is relevant to our times.

Rushdie without prentention, 14 Jul 2003
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. It lacked some of the lightness and humour which I really liked in "The Buddha..."

Still, this is a fine novel about identity and multiculturalism. Clever, straightforward, sparkling.

Kureishi at his most optimistic and enjoyable, 29 Jun 2001
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 sexual love. It is Kureishi at his most effortless and in many ways superior to "The Buddha of Suburbia" - much sunnier in outlook than his later work.

Despairing, self indulgent , 06 Oct 2008
These 10 short stories by Hanif Kureishi are well written enough and easy to read but they are about self indulgent odious characters going through various (self inflicted) crisis. Infidelity is a constant theme- throw in drugs, middle class pretention and angst and a whole splattering of despair and thats about all you have.
Full of media and "arty" types (everyone is a struggling author/actor)this is stuff to make you deeply depressed and wonder what planet the author lives on. Avoid.

Some high points, and some lower, 12 Jan 2008
Midnight All Day is a collection of short stories by Hanif Kureishi, an author whose characters often approach the low life, usually without ever actually attaining it. These stories are of variable quality, ranging from excellent to rather mundane, though they are all eminently readable, well written and well constructed. Sometimes there's just a bit too much incestuous involvement with the media. There are just a few too many writers, actors, television and film people around. One can understand why the author might meet a number of such people, but repeated use of media settings does occasionally detract from his story telling.

Despite this criticism, the characters are acutely drawn and are utterly credible. They tend to stumble or shamble through their lives from one opportunity to the next mistake, initiating and terminating relationships. Despite their tendency to write about or enact other characters, they often display very little facility for introspection. They often resort to their bottles or recreational drugs and treat sex as if it were a challenge.

So the stories deal with late twentieth century British professional middle classes, whose careers are always on top until they are bust, whose fortunes are always up until they crash, and whose relationships are always idyllic until they are failed.

Hanif Kureishi has a keen eye for the character of eighties and nineties Britain and on several occasions one feels implicitly that his subjects would not dream of discussing their woes with their parents. They are confident yet vulnerable, assertive yet indecisive, committed yet utterly ephemeral. There are occasions when these characteristics are a little overstated, but overall this is a moving and memorable collection which is probably best read one story at a time, rather than cover to cover.


Small details, large subject., 27 Dec 2007
A curiously dispassionate series of stories for ones concerned with passion, desire and human relationships, although (as always) excellently written and observed. I had to do a close reading of "Four Blue Chairs" from this volume for an assignment, and especially when looking at the symbolism of the objects mentioned, it really shows how carefully crafted the stories are, and how precise the language is. The level of detail is exquisite.

A little bit indulgent?, 24 Sep 2007
I don't know, I was a little disappointed in this. I really enjoyed 'Love in a Blue Time' and 'Intimacy' but I just couldn't get into this one. I do enjoy Kureshi's realistic portrayals of humanity but I found his characters so, well, petty and cruel and unlikeable. I don't think it helped that the majority were men and they just seemed to be revelling in their own failures...you couln't quite feel sympathetic because it read almost like an apology, ''Yes, I am weak and cruel but, hey, that's like, nothing I can be bothered to do about it.''
Just a little self indulgent for me.


Gloomy All Day?, 18 Jul 2007
It is some time since I complete this book so this is really an overview from my memory....

The characters, whether married or separated, all seem to have come adrift, and their affairs with someone new are at the urging of some hidden need for intimacy - there is no clear intention or goal. There may be some pleasure, but not enough to compensate for the complications and guilt. A case of "try again, fail again."

I do not mind this theme, after all, our lives can seem random and unsatisfactory at times! And the book is never depressing - these characters are trying and are connecting at some level. What I found disappointing was that the same slice of human tragedy was served up time and time again - the stories echoed each other too strongly, and the voice was mainly that of a midlife-crisis male.

Unlike anything you've ever read, 09 Apr 2008
A fair and balanced review would conclude that if you are conservative minded, prudish, not interested in music/popular culture and too sensitive to palate Asians engaging in homosexuality and drugs then the Buddha of Suburbia will hold no interest and maybe even repulse.
However if you're progressive & open minded in outlook, have a sense of humour, appreciate pop music/pop culture while also interested in the socio/political climate of late 1970s Britain and beyond, then this is the book for you - regardless of whether you're a `self-proclaimed liberal' or anything else. (Reviewed by a British Asian who could in fact relate to the book).

Don't waste your money..., 29 Nov 2007
It's one of those books that's received more acclaim than it deserves, the reasons why it receives any acclaim at all leave me at somewhat of a loss. Whilst the book is averagely well written it lacks any insight and portrays a poor understanding of what growing up for ethnic children was like. The characters are poorly fleshed out and thoroughly dislikeable. The story line is weak to non-existent and the book is thoroughly pretentious throughout. I really can't see what attracted people to reading this at all. I think only those who are self proclaimed liberals and think there's something fashionable about being ethnic will enjoy this. Everybody else, stay away.

A classy book about class, 06 Jul 2007
A very well-written and interesting account on life in the late 70's London, seen through the eyes of Karim; half English, half Indian. It all starts with his Indian dad having an affair with Eva, a charismatic and bohemian woman from his writing group. This leaves Karim's family in ruins and as the story develops Karim tries to come to terms with it all. After all he likes Eva, and her rock star son, Charlie.

Karim is eager to explore life to the max through explicit living; sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He gets some kind of direction though when Eva introduces him to a theatre director and he embarks on an acting career.

Parallel to the story about Karim's family runs the story about Anwar's family. Anwar is an old friend of Karim's dad and runs a shop with his wife Jeeta and daughter Jamilla, who is very rebellious. But Jamilla is forced into a marriage with an Indian man, which doesn't develop as Anwar wishes.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and you feel a lot of warmth for them. The political struggle between the different classes is also very well portrayed via middle-class arty-farties and suburban activist groups. Kureishi succeeds in guiding the reader from flowery hippies to hard core punks without being judgmental.


Not what I expected, 02 Jun 2007
I have only just read this book, having missed reading it when it was first published. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny and I giggled aloud several times while reading it. It tells the story of Karim, a young Asian lad trying to grow up in England. His attitude to his family, particularly his mum and dad, is really entertaining. I found the book more entertaining as it went on. Kureshi has a really informal writing style which could be under rated because it seems so casual and effortless. I found myself re reading some sentences and paragraphs several times because they had been so cleverly constructed - seemingly artlessly.
I would recommend this book for an uplifting, entertaining read.

An exceptional novel, 19 Aug 2006
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is truly an exceptional novel about the 70;s decade in London. This is the decade when the hip culture developed and immigrants settled in UK. The novel is beatifully narratted and gives the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the 70's. Hanif Kureishi is a talent writer, but I feel a little underratted.

Alright, still..., 27 Nov 2008
Hanif Kureishi is an author of our life and times - in the main writing fiction - recording popular culture - contemporary living with all its fashions and fads.
He captures the multi-class, multi-cultural multi-lifestyles of folk who inhabit his view of swinging London and cool Britannia.
He writes with a pleasing extravagance as he reels off the mayhem and (mis)adventures of his characters.
In my reading and viewing of him, he always has done and seemingly always will - and I can't see much wrong with that.
I loved `My Beautiful Launderette' `the Buddha of Suburbia' `London Kills Me' and `Venus'.
`Something to Tell You' is a tragic-comic read of eccentric and extreme characters and their lives in the margins of society from the last quarter of the last century on.
The main characters are baby-boomers coming to terms with their failing powers, missed opportunities, failures, regrets - some secrets and some crimes.
Each it seems is struggling with mid to late life crisis and haunted by their individual and collective past.
Personal entanglements and encounters.
To me Kureishi captures the pantomime of the generation - intertwines fact with fiction and twists it into a real, entertaining romp.
Alternative lifestyles amplified.
I love his easy style and enjoy his wit and the aplomb with which he delivers this story.
It makes me smile.
If you can park the author's previous works and your expectations too and read the book for what it is, not what you want it to be - it may even make you smile too.









What's new? - not a lot., 30 May 2008
Sadly this seems to me an oh-too familiar depiction of Kureishi characters, bohemiam intellectuals, disparate deadbeats, immigrant maunderings, and all else in between; throw in some sexual deviancy of the bum variety toking on an ample supply of drugs, a few philosophical qoutes, long-winded expostion that completely loses the reader in terms on interest, and one wonders what really is the point? From the slide of Gabriel's Gift it's hard to see a way back for Kureishi - this from a fan who's read it all, and will probably stop from here on in; or, perhaps, read his old stuff, it'll amount to the same either way. To write well about one's heritage, culture, set in a postmodernist melting pot, one needs more than wowee! strange characters laboriously described via a psychological A-Z of deviancy and psychosis. One needs to be able to write as well as Philip Roth or Saul Bellow; Kureishi will be the first to admit he could and never will live up to either. The question is, what he will live up to if not the same old glories regurgitated.

Fascinating yet unconvincing, 28 May 2008
I was so much looking forward to reading this book. After all, it was Hanif Kureishi and the main character, Jamal, is a psychoanalyst with a secret. However, although I quite enjoyed the story and the writing style, I was disappointed by the gaps in the novel that left me wondering if I had missed some explanation or important information. If we, as the readers, are supposed to understand better what Jamal is all about by focusing on what J chooses to leave out of his story then somehow this was lost on me. It was, though, a fascinating account of a world of drugs, intellectuals, celebrities so I would recommend this book to anyone who is drawn to a read set against this backdrop.

Gentrification of the fetish scene..?, 21 Mar 2008
I'm thoroughly enjoying this novel.
The characters are well observed and believable, as is the London they all inhabit - despite an error regarding the location of the Astoria. Only Michael Bracewell can really challenge this author when it comes to observing and commenting upon the social and cultural circuitry of London life '...unless you had cachet, social progress in London could be slow, painful and futile.' Indeed, the culture/class clash at the centre of the action is what keeps things interesting and fresh in this novel.

The first novel to detect and comment upon the Bizarre magazine/Torture Garden-instigated gentrification of the fetish scene that seems to be occuring right now?



Sex and high culture, 17 Mar 2008
A great fan of Hanif Kureishi, I found this latest book deeply disappointing. Unbelievable characters, stilted dialogue. In real life the protagonist - Jamal, the psychoanalyst - would be barred from his profession. A mix of high culture and graphic sex, Alan Hollinghurst for straights.

a little life changer, 15 Aug 2008
whether you agree with Kureishi's ironic negative take on life, theres no getting away from the fact that this book rings very true to life today and the opinions within it, speak from the very edge. It's as much a work of philosophy as it is of fiction. Rates alongside Kundera and Houllebeqc as a book of ideas, but unlike both is grounded in a narrtaive world that is utterly real. terrifying and real.

Honesty and integrity if not sympathy, 30 Apr 2008
I loved this book.I am a 40 something now happily married guy and yet can sadly recognise some if not all of the musings and conflicts of Jay, and believe many others (and not just men ) could do the same.Some reviewers have said this is an uncomfortable read ....it is...but none the less enjoyable for that.
Highly recommended to those who can take some self criticsism and be prepared to look at themselves in the mirror!!!

Poignant take on the break down of a relationship , 03 Feb 2008
My God ... midlife crisis and some. This novella shows the dark side of the male pysche in technicolour. Written in the first person ... it is an interesting, if introspective, polemic. The central protagonist has given little thought to what he wants from his life, family or relationship. He is a man who seems to have drifted into something without really reflecting upon the long term consequences. Well written, realistic - if not a little hopeless.

a must read, 08 Feb 2006
picked it up at an airport per chance 6 years ago - and since remains one of my all time favorite books. simplistically written yet powerfully insightful. each sentence is thought provoking. it demonstrates the strength and weakness of the human psyche - how easily we can adapt to any change - even if it means disconnecting from reality - yet how difficult it is for us to reconnect.

you want to hate the protagonist - yet you forgive him because he is so acutely self-aware.

The way we live now, 04 Dec 2004
Every sentence is honest and wise. It's a man's book, and at last. We've had enough of female sensitivity and whining feminism. "Intimacy" is about how we live now, and about how we must never give up the pursuit of happiness.

SPLIT LOYALTIES, 19 Sep 2007
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 the main character's personal struggles Kureishi revisits territory familiar from his film-script "My Beautiful Laundrette" and his debut novel "The Buddha of Suburbia". A highly relevant story on multi-culturalism and the 'state of the nation' during the Thatcher years, focusing on relations between races and the predicament of British youth. More specifically it engages with the controversies surrounding the imposition of the fatwa on Salman Rushdie in 1989. Pre-occupied with popular culture and music, the novel takes it title from an album by Prince. Price is a key symbol within the text of the enabling potential of cultural hybridism in expanding received models of national and ethnic identity, thus challenging the fundamentalist of metropolitan racism and 3rd world politics alike. Recommended read!

Islam-ain't-bad, 20 Sep 2006
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. The driving force is the tension between the pull of the sensual, liberal ideals of the west, and the weight of traditional Islamic expectations. Suavely intelligent as always, Kureshi's themes have never been more relevant.


An intelligent amusing book about cultural identity, 01 Jan 2005
I loved this book and found it well written and pertinent to many of the issues of a multicultural society. It addresses the problems of growing up as a British Asian and the tension between traditional and liberal values. It is very relevant to these days of cultural antagonism and also very amusing and touching. I think everyone should read this book. The plot is not confusing and the story is relevant to our times.

Rushdie without prentention, 14 Jul 2003
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. It lacked some of the lightness and humour which I really liked in "The Buddha..."

Still, this is a fine novel about identity and multiculturalism. Clever, straightforward, sparkling.

Kureishi at his most optimistic and enjoyable, 29 Jun 2001
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 sexual love. It is Kureishi at his most effortless and in many ways superior to "The Buddha of Suburbia" - much sunnier in outlook than his later work.

Despairing, self indulgent , 06 Oct 2008
These 10 short stories by Hanif Kureishi are well written enough and easy to read but they are about self indulgent odious characters going through various (self inflicted) crisis. Infidelity is a constant theme- throw in drugs, middle class pretention and angst and a whole splattering of despair and thats about all you have.
Full of media and "arty" types (everyone is a struggling author/actor)this is stuff to make you deeply depressed and wonder what planet the author lives on. Avoid.

Some high points, and some lower, 12 Jan 2008
Midnight All Day is a collection of short stories by Hanif Kureishi, an author whose characters often approach the low life, usually without ever actually attaining it. These stories are of variable quality, ranging from excellent to rather mundane, though they are all eminently readable, well written and well constructed. Sometimes there's just a bit too much incestuous involvement with the media. There are just a few too many writers, actors, television and film people around. One can understand why the author might meet a number of such people, but repeated use of media settings does occasionally detract from his story telling.

Despite this criticism, the characters are acutely drawn and are utterly credible. They tend to stumble or shamble through their lives from one opportunity to the next mistake, initiating and terminating relationships. Despite their tendency to write about or enact other characters, they often display very little facility for introspection. They often resort to their bottles or recreational drugs and treat sex as if it were a challenge.

So the stories deal with late twentieth century British professional middle classes, whose careers are always on top until they are bust, whose fortunes are always up until they crash, and whose relationships are always idyllic until they are failed.

Hanif Kureishi has a keen eye for the character of eighties and nineties Britain and on several occasions one feels implicitly that his subjects would not dream of discussing their woes with their parents. They are confident yet vulnerable, assertive yet indecisive, committed yet utterly ephemeral. There are occasions when these characteristics are a little overstated, but overall this is a moving and memorable collection which is probably best read one story at a time, rather than cover to cover.


Small details, large subject., 27 Dec 2007
A curiously dispassionate series of stories for ones concerned with passion, desire and human relationships, although (as always) excellently written and observed. I had to do a close reading of "Four Blue Chairs" from this volume for an assignment, and especially when looking at the symbolism of the objects mentioned, it really shows how carefully crafted the stories are, and how precise the language is. The level of detail is exquisite.

A little bit indulgent?, 24 Sep 2007
I don't know, I was a little disappointed in this. I really enjoyed 'Love in a Blue Time' and 'Intimacy' but I just couldn't get into this one. I do enjoy Kureshi's realistic portrayals of humanity but I found his characters so, well, petty and cruel and unlikeable. I don't think it helped that the majority were men and they just seemed to be revelling in their own failures...you couln't quite feel sympathetic because it read almost like an apology, ''Yes, I am weak and cruel but, hey, that's like, nothing I can be bothered to do about it.''
Just a little self indulgent for me.


Gloomy All Day?, 18 Jul 2007
It is some time since I complete this book so this is really an overview from my memory....

The characters, whether married or separated, all seem to have come adrift, and their affairs with someone new are at the urging of some hidden need for intimacy - there is no clear intention or goal. There may be some pleasure, but not enough to compensate for the complications and guilt. A case of "try again, fail again."

I do not mind this theme, after all, our lives can seem random and unsatisfactory at times! And the book is never depressing - these characters are trying and are connecting at some level. What I found disappointing was that the same slice of human tragedy was served up time and time again - the stories echoed each other too strongly, and the voice was mainly that of a midlife-crisis male.

Brilliant writing, 21 Jul 2000
Kureishi's collection of short stories perfectly captures a confused sense of identity and longing. Excellent

Just brilliant. A book of emotions., 09 Jun 2000
I first read A Hanif Kureishi's novel at university. And I just loved it. I thought the way those book were written suggested a whole universe I could almost touch. There is no way I can describe it better. The words fly like feathers. And things are described without even being said. It is amazing how Hanif Kureishi manages to create a tunnel of emotions in just few lines. All the stories deserve an award for the truth they carry with them.

Intelligent, entertaining but unevern story collection., 09 Feb 1999
I was excited and refreshed to read the first(title)story in this collection. It was smart, hip, insightful and moved at a rate that was fun after slogging through a lot of modern "literary" fiction. Unfortunately the later stories in the collection were darker, slower and in the case of "Flies"-too self-consciously symbolic("The Turd" seemed too outrageous to take the symbolism seriously). As a guy in late middle age who has long since left drugged-out, lost friends it was refreshing to relive the hilarity, pain and eventual insanity of that wonderfully self-centered life-without-limits.

Short Stories...Provacative, Bizarre and Humorous, 06 Sep 1998
Hanif Kureishi is a wonderful writer with the unique ability to touch on often serious topics as race, class and religion with unabashed humor. Love in a Blue Time is no exception. His social commentaries are expressed through well-developed characters, ranging from the highly ordinary to the very peculiar. "We are not Jews", "My Son the Fanatic" and "The Tale of the Turd" are arguably the the best short stories in this series and must-reads for fans of this gifted writer.

Gabriel's Gift is in many ways an old-fashioned coming-of-age novel that gives early adolescent angst its full pathos but Kureishi is saved from the potential mawkishness of his subject by prose attuned to the streets, pubs and people he writes about:

The place was full of childish men from the post office and the local bus garage gazing up at the big TV screen. Dad's grey-faced mates were playing pool. They all looked the same to Gabriel with their roll-ups, pints and musty clothes. They rarely went out into the light, unless they stood outside the pub on a sunny day, and they were as likely to eat anything green, as they were to drink anything blue or wear anything pink.

Gabriel's gift is that he is an artist trying to find his own colour-palette in the grey-tinged North London world described above and overcome the pain his parents' messy personal lives cause him. A meeting with Lester Jones, an ageing glam rock star, and former pal of Gabriel's somewhat hapless dad gives him the energy and opportunity to embark on his task of self-making and finding a better place in the world. Lester's lesson is that Gabriel's life and work need to be one thing. Gabriel's ally on this path is the voice of his remembered twin brother Archie. En route, his parents reconcile; his father finds some sense of purpose in teaching guitar and important friendships with his schoolmate Zak and the local gay restaurateur, Speedy, are formed.

The tentative sweetness of its protagonist remains the novels greatest strength. The writing is wistful, almost whimsical, though one misses a little of the anarchic nastiness that characterised the best of Kureishi's earlier work. --Neville Hoad

Unlike anything you've ever read, 09 Apr 2008
A fair and balanced review would conclude that if you are conservative minded, prudish, not interested in music/popular culture and too sensitive to palate Asians engaging in homosexuality and drugs then the Buddha of Suburbia will hold no interest and maybe even repulse.
However if you're progressive & open minded in outlook, have a sense of humour, appreciate pop music/pop culture while also interested in the socio/political climate of late 1970s Britain and beyond, then this is the book for you - regardless of whether you're a `self-proclaimed liberal' or anything else. (Reviewed by a British Asian who could in fact relate to the book).

Don't waste your money..., 29 Nov 2007
It's one of those books that's received more acclaim than it deserves, the reasons why it receives any acclaim at all leave me at somewhat of a loss. Whilst the book is averagely well written it lacks any insight and portrays a poor understanding of what growing up for ethnic children was like. The characters are poorly fleshed out and thoroughly dislikeable. The story line is weak to non-existent and the book is thoroughly pretentious throughout. I really can't see what attracted people to reading this at all. I think only those who are self proclaimed liberals and think there's something fashionable about being ethnic will enjoy this. Everybody else, stay away.

A classy book about class, 06 Jul 2007
A very well-written and interesting account on life in the late 70's London, seen through the eyes of Karim; half English, half Indian. It all starts with his Indian dad having an affair with Eva, a charismatic and bohemian woman from his writing group. This leaves Karim's family in ruins and as the story develops Karim tries to come to terms with it all. After all he likes Eva, and her rock star son, Charlie.

Karim is eager to explore life to the max through explicit living; sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He gets some kind of direction though when Eva introduces him to a theatre director and he embarks on an acting career.

Parallel to the story about Karim's family runs the story about Anwar's family. Anwar is an old friend of Karim's dad and runs a shop with his wife Jeeta and daughter Jamilla, who is very rebellious. But Jamilla is forced into a marriage with an Indian man, which doesn't develop as Anwar wishes.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and you feel a lot of warmth for them. The political struggle between the different classes is also very well portrayed via middle-class arty-farties and suburban activist groups. Kureishi succeeds in guiding the reader from flowery hippies to hard core punks without being judgmental.


Not what I expected, 02 Jun 2007
I have only just read this book, having missed reading it when it was first published. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny and I giggled aloud several times while reading it. It tells the story of Karim, a young Asian lad trying to grow up in England. His attitude to his family, particularly his mum and dad, is really entertaining. I found the book more entertaining as it went on. Kureshi has a really informal writing style which could be under rated because it seems so casual and effortless. I found myself re reading some sentences and paragraphs several times because they had been so cleverly constructed - seemingly artlessly.
I would recommend this book for an uplifting, entertaining read.

An exceptional novel, 19 Aug 2006
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is truly an exceptional novel about the 70;s decade in London. This is the decade when the hip culture developed and immigrants settled in UK. The novel is beatifully narratted and gives the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the 70's. Hanif Kureishi is a talent writer, but I feel a little underratted.

Alright, still..., 27 Nov 2008
Hanif Kureishi is an author of our life and times - in the main writing fiction - recording popular culture - contemporary living with all its fashions and fads.
He captures the multi-class, multi-cultural multi-lifestyles of folk who inhabit his view of swinging London and cool Britannia.
He writes with a pleasing extravagance as he reels off the mayhem and (mis)adventures of his characters.
In my reading and viewing of him, he always has done and seemingly always will - and I can't see much wrong with that.
I loved `My Beautiful Launderette' `the Buddha of Suburbia' `London Kills Me' and `Venus'.
`Something to Tell You' is a tragic-comic read of eccentric and extreme characters and their lives in the margins of society from the last quarter of the last century on.
The main characters are baby-boomers coming to terms with their failing powers, missed opportunities, failures, regrets - some secrets and some crimes.
Each it seems is struggling with mid to late life crisis and haunted by their individual and collective past.
Personal entanglements and encounters.
To me Kureishi captures the pantomime of the generation - intertwines fact with fiction and twists it into a real, entertaining romp.
Alternative lifestyles amplified.
I love his easy style and enjoy his wit and the aplomb with which he delivers this story.
It makes me smile.
If you can park the author's previous works and your expectations too and read the book for what it is, not what you want it to be - it may even make you smile too.









What's new? - not a lot., 30 May 2008
Sadly this seems to me an oh-too familiar depiction of Kureishi characters, bohemiam intellectuals, disparate deadbeats, immigrant maunderings, and all else in between; throw in some sexual deviancy of the bum variety toking on an ample supply of drugs, a few philosophical qoutes, long-winded expostion that completely loses the reader in terms on interest, and one wonders what really is the point? From the slide of Gabriel's Gift it's hard to see a way back for Kureishi - this from a fan who's read it all, and will probably stop from here on in; or, perhaps, read his old stuff, it'll amount to the same either way. To write well about one's heritage, culture, set in a postmodernist melting pot, one needs more than wowee! strange characters laboriously described via a psychological A-Z of deviancy and psychosis. One needs to be able to write as well as Philip Roth or Saul Bellow; Kureishi will be the first to admit he could and never will live up to either. The question is, what he will live up to if not the same old glories regurgitated.

Fascinating yet unconvincing, 28 May 2008
I was so much looking forward to reading this book. After all, it was Hanif Kureishi and the main character, Jamal, is a psychoanalyst with a secret. However, although I quite enjoyed the story and the writing style, I was disappointed by the gaps in the novel that left me wondering if I had missed some explanation or important information. If we, as the readers, are supposed to understand better what Jamal is all about by focusing on what J chooses to leave out of his story then somehow this was lost on me. It was, though, a fascinating account of a world of drugs, intellectuals, celebrities so I would recommend this book to anyone who is drawn to a read set against this backdrop.

Gentrification of the fetish scene..?, 21 Mar 2008
I'm thoroughly enjoying this novel.
The characters are well observed and believable, as is the London they all inhabit - despite an error regarding the location of the Astoria. Only Michael Bracewell can really challenge this author when it comes to observing and commenting upon the social and cultural circuitry of London life '...unless you had cachet, social progress in London could be slow, painful and futile.' Indeed, the culture/class clash at the centre of the action is what keeps things interesting and fresh in this novel.

The first novel to detect and comment upon the Bizarre magazine/Torture Garden-instigated gentrification of the fetish scene that seems to be occuring right now?



Sex and high culture, 17 Mar 2008
A great fan of Hanif Kureishi, I found this latest book deeply disappointing. Unbelievable characters, stilted dialogue. In real life the protagonist - Jamal, the psychoanalyst - would be barred from his profession. A mix of high culture and graphic sex, Alan Hollinghurst for straights.

a little life changer, 15 Aug 2008
whether you agree with Kureishi's ironic negative take on life, theres no getting away from the fact that this book rings very true to life today and the opinions within it, speak from the very edge. It's as much a work of philosophy as it is of fiction. Rates alongside Kundera and Houllebeqc as a book of ideas, but unlike both is grounded in a narrtaive world that is utterly real. terrifying and