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If you want to know where Zadie Smith copies from (not that she is not worth reading), the Budda of Suburbia is your book. Very well written, nearly too easy to read (shouldn't be literature be something you have to fight through?) and superb characters: the Indian public servant who turns himself into a guru (the budda of suburbia of the title), Harun and his identy and sexual orientation struggles - I just do not want to tell too much of the story to spoil the joy - just enjoy!

I really liked the book! The book is about the initiation of Karim, a half-Indian and half-British teenager growing up in the suburbia of London. It demonstrates race conflicts and shows how a young man has to deal with his sexuality, his future and the break down of his family life. In my opinion the book is easy and funny to read. Some passages are a bit boring, others can be really touching. I think it's a book you can only identify with if you grow up under similar circumstances like the protagonist. Some links to Kureishi's film "My Beautiful Laundrette" can be observed.

"The Buddha of Suburbia" deals, just like some other books of the author Hanif Kureishi, with the problems of Indians, growing up and living in England. The teenager Karim lives with his parents and his younger brother in a London suburb. His father Haroon is an Indian and beliefs in Buddhism, that's why he hosts "Buddha-Meetings" to share his knowledge with others; friends and relatives as well. But the more Haroon becomes involved in between two cultures, the larger becomes the gap to his family. Karim is the one who has to make important decisions in order to find his way through the suburbs and set up his identity. His life turns, when he gets the opportunity to play in a theatre as an actor. "The Buddha of Suburbia" is a very funny book that tries to give the reader a chance to share the feelings of Karim, who wants to find a balance between his life in London and his traditional roots in India.

The first part of the book (in the suburbs) I didn't find very interesting. I have to struggle with reading it because there was no real plot, no action - it drags. In some passages you learn something about Karims inner conflict. He is half British and half Indian and doesn't know where he belongs. But I think, the reader doesn't really learn anything about problems of immigrants or race conflicts in England. The second part (in the city) I found more interesting and sometimes funny, especially when Karim tells about Changez, how he talks and moves. The passages about Matthew and his wife are very exaggerated and petty. I can't say that I enjoyed reading or that I learnd anything from the story.

This Bildungsroman is really interesting. Kureishi portrays the protagonist's (karim's) way from adolesence to adulthood.The author illustrates themes like racism,interracial realtionships & the music scene of the 1970s. Kureishi describes all these themes with a lot of humour, which makes this novel really exciting and extraordinary.