Black Album (Faber Essentials) [Paperback]

Hanif Kureishi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001 | Series: Faber Essentials

Set in London in 1989, the year of the fatwah and the fall of the Berlin Wall, this is a thriller with a background of raves, ecstasy, religious ferment and sexual passion. By the author of "The Buddha of Suburbia" and "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Again cleverly mining the chaos and contradictions of multicultural, postmodern England, Kureishi (The Buddha of Suburbia) follows the turbulent social and spiritual education of an impressionable young Pakistani at an inferior London college, where he struggles with conflicting personal, familial and cultural allegiances. The year is 1989, and the publication of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses has caused an international controversy. Shahid Hasan has left his bourgeois family in Kent to study in the city. As he falls in with a group of crusading young Muslims whose charismatic leader lives next door, Shahid also becomes deeply involved?both intellectually and sexually?with his liberal, humanistic professor Deedee Osgood, who has assigned him a term paper on the rock icon then known as Prince. Irresolute to the point of spinelessness, Shahid allows his beliefs to vacillate until a violent confrontation erupts. Kureishi insightfully probes issues of faith and individualism against a memorable landscape of urban and academic upheaval. While Shahid's lack of conviction and personal loyalty make him a less than likable protagonist, there is ample fervor in the colorful supporting cast, and the author's wit and considerable narrative talents easily embroil the reader in the novel's unfolding drama.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Kureishi's first novel, The Buddha of Suburbia (LJ 3/15/90), won England's Whitbread Prize; he is also famous for writing the screenplay of the film My Beautiful Laundrette (Faber & Faber, 1986). This, his second novel, is a portrait of Shahid Hasan, a young Pakistani student torn between a love affair with his college professor, DeeDee Osgood, and his political work with Islamics fighting racism. Kureishi portrays a bleak, drug-infested world full of offbeat sexual encounters. But like the student he depicts, he asks many questions: Can anywhere really be home for an immigrant living between two cultures? Should friends share similar values? Does wisdom come from what we know, or what we don't know? But this makes the novel sound too planned, too arranged. Instead, it's a rollicking, cross-cultural look at modern London life: sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll seen through the eyes of a minority not sure of what path to follow. Recommended for most collections.?Doris Lynch, Bloomington P.L., Ind.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber Ltd (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571203922
• ISBN-13: 978-0571203925
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,273,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect contemporary british novel, August 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Black Album (Paperback)

Kureishi has written the perfect contemporary british novel for the contemporary thinker. He probes into such matters as racism and drugs, and seems to question whether either of these are necessary (after having Shahid, his protagonist, exposed to quite a bit of both). His ability to combine his powerful sociopolitical thoughts with a bit of a love story speaks of all of our lives today - we must deal with many different causes, trying to find out which ones are ours.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex, drugs, rock and roll .., March 19, 2002

By 

"johnewark" (Hull, East Yorkshire, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Album (Paperback)

Yet another winner from Hanif Kureishi as he delves deep into the world of drugs, music and adolescent confusion within the
world of a group of Asian college students. Taking the title from a Prince album, Kureishi explores the interrelations between a
working class Asian student heavily influenced by literature and his revolutionary, English lecturer with whom he begins an affair.This is counterbalanced by the threats of an uprising amongst his fellow students who seek to defend themselves against the prejudice they see within neighbouring communities.

In a titanic struggle, Shahid Hasan must choose between his friends and his lover, both of whom are cast in the revolutionary
lights yet in radically different ways. Just as in The Buddha of Suburbia, Kureishi's own literary and musical tastes are revealed
yet this also shows what can go wrong when one person takes it on themselves to embody the opinions of the majority. The
result sees the boundaries of class and identity become tragically blurred amongst a haze of pills, alcohol and teenage outrage.

Once again Kureishi reinforces his position as one of the best non-British writers in British literature with a rollercoaster novel which moves between the deadly serious and wickedly funny, true genius.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buddha of Suburbia is a meal -- This is cold takeout curry, December 1, 2000

By 

supastar (brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Album (Paperback)

But pretty tasty. Shahid is not as interesting as the hero in Buddha (forget his name) was. He's not as smart, doesn't have as much gusto to know and love and live in the world, he's not as daring, but he's good. Furthermore the supporting characters, unlike the father and the rock star from Buddha, are all caracatures, some of which intially show promise, like his neighbor, the leader of a fanatical Muslim group, who originally shows an understanding passionate ear to Shahid, but then all but disappears or becomes a complete mockery. He could have been better. If Shahid was looking for brotherhood and found something attractive in the group, it is never explored. He never seems to care, not care, agree, or disagree, and I don't know whether this was Kureishi's point, or if the book was just poorly written. His lover lacks depth, as does his brother. The drugdealer proves to be boring and not worth reading, and then finally, his family history, his place, is never explored. Nothing is resolved, its a sitcom-type of comedy, but it is often a fun read. The raves and the chases and the experiences are all quite easy and fun to read, but the story never takes off like Buddha. I guess it stays closer to home, its a little more realistic, but overall, the book is much weaker than Buddha of Suburbia.