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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
perfect contemporary british novel,
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 ..,
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 theworld 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 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,
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.
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