The Black Album (Paperback)

by Hanif Kureishi (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Kureishi's second novel is a multicultural coming-of-age tale.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Scribner Paper Fiction (October 29, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684825406
• ISBN-13: 978-0684825403
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #180,458 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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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

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

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A long, tedious read., August 4, 2004

By	Alan Zahringer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Indians, Pakistanis, English right-wing thugs, academics, swingers, religious zealeots, idealists, pushers and the hopeless meet in London, but do little to create much excitement.
A young Pakistini student moves to the big city after the death of his father and deals with himself, his sexuality, relgious beliefs, his family's bollywood-like dramas and his neighbour's idealists (mis)adventures.

To rate this book on the strength of the images it conjures up for those who lived in London during that era, might not be the fairest way to judge a book. Apart from the protagonst's unconvincing affair with his lecturer and run-ins with his brother, there is little else to grab the attention of the reader.

A slow and tedious read and had i not picked this up for only US$2, the rating would be easily one star.