The Buddha of Suburbia | 
so-soInsightful account of 70s London that critiques class and racism through the lens of Karim as he finds his way through young adulthood. I caught a glimpse of the tv show as a kid and from those vague memories I thought I might enjoy the novel but I found the characters quite exasperating and it was a struggle in the end. 5/10
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!
#ABookADay2023
pickI wasn‘t sure at first but it won me over! A sweet, funny, lightly profound but not pretentious Bildungsroman about an Indian boy/man growing up in 80s London trying to be cool and arty. I appreciated the bisexual representation (yes I am a broken record 💖💜💙). The ensemble of characters was hilarious and very realistic, and I loved how it examined class in Britain. #1001books
Don‘t get the audio tho, the recording quality was really bad
Off to a bad start with the audio quality being FAR from perfect on this one, but I‘ve wanted to read this for so long that I‘ll stick with it and try to enjoy the words despite the sound quality.
pick
#rockinmay #immigrantsong also made me think of Asian Dub Foundation's raucous and radical "Fortress Europe" ("Safe European homes built on wars / You don't like the effect don't produce the cause"). Best paired with The Buddha of Suburbia, a bawdy, witty classic of a child of immigrants in England in the late 70s. It's also a trenchant exploration of class at the start of the onslaught of Thatcherism. Thx @Cinfhen, this was fun to think about.
