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    The Buddha of Suburbia

    Part of Penguin Vitae

    Author Hanif Kureishi
    Hardcover
    $30.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
    On sale Dec 01, 2026 | 288 Pages | 9780143139300
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    “A wickedly funny novel” (The New York Times) from the author of SHATTERED

    “There was one copy going round our school like contraband. I read it in one sitting...I'd never read a book about anyone remotely like me before.”—Zadie Smith

    My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost...

    The hero of Hanif Kureishi's debut novel is dreamy teenager Karim, desperate to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving—albeit with some rude and raucous results.

    With the publication of The Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi landed into the literary landscape as a distinct new voice and a fearless taboo-breaking writer. The novel inspired a ground-breaking BBC series featuring a soundtrack by David Bowie.

    Winner of the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel
    • WINNER
      Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Award
    Hanif Kureishi grew up in Kent, England, and studied philosophy at King's College London. His novels include The Buddha of Suburbia, which won the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel, The Black Album, Intimacy, and The Last Word. His screenplays include My Beautiful Laundrette, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and Le Week-End. He has also published several collections of short stories. He has been awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and his works have been translated into 36 languages. View titles by Hanif Kureishi
    “Brilliant...fascinating and infuriating...Kureishi has an extraordinary gift for creating vivid characters.”—The Boston Globe

    “A wonderful novel. I doubt I will read a funnier one, or one with more heart, this year, possibly this decade.”—Angela Carter, Guardian

    “One of the best comic novels of growing up, and one of the sharpest satires on race relations in this country that I've ever read.”—Independent on Sunday

    “Brilliantly funny. A fresh, anarchic and deliciously unrestrained novel.”—Sunday Times (London)

    “A distinctive and talented voice, blithe, savvy, alive and kicking.”—Hermione Lee, Independent (London)

    “Delectable....Resembling a modern-day Tom Jones , this is an astonishing book, full of intelligence and elan.”—Publishers Weekly

    “This remarkably fine first novel from the author of the screenplays My Beautiful Launderette and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid is a freewheeling tour through the London of the 1970's—a London as vice- and class-ridden as that of a Hogarth engraving.”—Kirkus Reviews

    About

    “A wickedly funny novel” (The New York Times) from the author of SHATTERED

    “There was one copy going round our school like contraband. I read it in one sitting...I'd never read a book about anyone remotely like me before.”—Zadie Smith

    My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost...

    The hero of Hanif Kureishi's debut novel is dreamy teenager Karim, desperate to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving—albeit with some rude and raucous results.

    With the publication of The Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi landed into the literary landscape as a distinct new voice and a fearless taboo-breaking writer. The novel inspired a ground-breaking BBC series featuring a soundtrack by David Bowie.

    Winner of the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel

    Awards

    • WINNER
      Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Award

    Author

    Hanif Kureishi grew up in Kent, England, and studied philosophy at King's College London. His novels include The Buddha of Suburbia, which won the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel, The Black Album, Intimacy, and The Last Word. His screenplays include My Beautiful Laundrette, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and Le Week-End. He has also published several collections of short stories. He has been awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and his works have been translated into 36 languages. View titles by Hanif Kureishi

    Praise

    “Brilliant...fascinating and infuriating...Kureishi has an extraordinary gift for creating vivid characters.”—The Boston Globe

    “A wonderful novel. I doubt I will read a funnier one, or one with more heart, this year, possibly this decade.”—Angela Carter, Guardian

    “One of the best comic novels of growing up, and one of the sharpest satires on race relations in this country that I've ever read.”—Independent on Sunday

    “Brilliantly funny. A fresh, anarchic and deliciously unrestrained novel.”—Sunday Times (London)

    “A distinctive and talented voice, blithe, savvy, alive and kicking.”—Hermione Lee, Independent (London)

    “Delectable....Resembling a modern-day Tom Jones , this is an astonishing book, full of intelligence and elan.”—Publishers Weekly

    “This remarkably fine first novel from the author of the screenplays My Beautiful Launderette and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid is a freewheeling tour through the London of the 1970's—a London as vice- and class-ridden as that of a Hogarth engraving.”—Kirkus Reviews

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