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

The hero of Hanif Kureishi's debut novel is the dreamy teenager Karim, who desperately tries to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits that the 1970s seem to offer. When an unlikely opportunity for a life in theater arises, Karim begins to gain the kind of attention he has longed for - albeit with some rude and noisy consequences.

With the publication of Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi emerged as a distinctive new voice and fearless taboo-breaker in the literary landscape. The novel inspired a groundbreaking BBC series with a soundtrack by David Bowie.