The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), written by Hanif Kureishi, won the Whitbread Award for the best first novel. It has been translated into 20 languages and was also made into a four-part drama series by the BBC in 1993, with a soundtrack by David Bowie.
Hanif Kureishi's two novels The Buddha of Suburbia and The Black Album are about initiation, (black, Asian) British youth, pop culture, the condition of England, and London.
Due to the orality in The...
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The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), written by Hanif Kureishi, won the Whitbread Award for the best first novel. It has been translated into 20 languages and was also made into a four-part drama series by the BBC in 1993, with a soundtrack by David Bowie.
Hanif Kureishi's two novels The Buddha of Suburbia and The Black Album are about initiation, (black, Asian) British youth, pop culture, the condition of England, and London.
Due to the orality in The Buddha, the historical events, and the many dialogues full of colloquialism, the reader gets the impression of realism. The novel is highly episodic; juxtaposition and collage are the techniques that Kureishi uses.
The Buddha of Suburbia is said to be very autobiographical. It is about Karim, a hybrid teenager, who is desperate to escape suburban South London and make new experiences in London in the 1970s. Gladly he takes the unlikely opportunity when a life in the theatre announces itself. When there is nothing left for him to do in London...
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