The Black Album

Set in London in 1989, the year of the fatwah and the fall of the Berlin Wall, this is a thriller with a background of raves, ecstasy, religious ferment and sexual passion. By the author of The Buddha of Suburbia and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid.

From AudioFile

This jagged-edged novel of young, revolutionary Pakistanis in London is by the writer of the much-lauded British film My Beautiful Laundrette. The closely observed characters are not particularly likeable or interesting. At least not as interpreted on this tape. Narrator Varla gives distinctive, memorable renderings of the large cast, though he makes none of them particularly sympathetic. He excels at animating scenes of violence and sensation but has less success with either the intellectual content or sarcasm. Nor does he convey any sense of the book's architecture. The listener receives a brutal, misanthropic political study of intermittent power and long stretches of tedium. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Kureishi's second novel is a multicultural coming-of-age tale. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

From Booklist

Writer of several successful screenplays, including My Beautiful Laundrette and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and author of the critically acclaimed Buddha of Suburbia, Kureishi tackles contemporary urban life and all its hypocrisy through issues of sexual relations, racial tensions, political activism, religious beliefs, and educational failings. Shahid, the novel's main character, is torn between opposing forces. On one hand, he is asked to be loyal to his new friends, who seem merely conservative Muslims but turn out to be book-burning fanatics. On the other hand, his sexually exciting but drug-addicted college teacher and lover wants him to herself, to give in to all her whims. Shahid is pulled back and forth but doesn't seem to swear allegiance to either influence. It is not until he witnesses and then becomes the victim of Muslim fanaticism that he realizes where his bonds are strongest: to his troubled and self-destructive brother and to the opportunity for real love. The novel's tone is a combination of sadness, sarcasm, and chaos. It speaks of a real lack of identity and confusion over what to believe in. Kureishi sensitively acknowledges our recent urban plights; he is a valid commentator on our times. Janet St. John --This text refers to the paperback edition.

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 the paperback edition.

About the Author

Hanif Kureishi was born and brought up in Kent. He read philosophy at King's College, London. He is the author of numerous novels, short story collections, screenplays and plays. In 1984 he wrote My Beautiful Laundrette, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay. His second film, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, was followed by London Kills Me, which he also directed. The Buddha of Suburbia won the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel in 1990 and was made into a four-part drama series by the BBC. His second novel, The Black Album, was published in 1995 and his first collection of short stories, Love in a Blue Time, was published in 1997. My Son the Fanatic, a story from that collection, was adapted for film and released in 1998. Intimacy, his third novel, was published in 1998, and was adapted for film in 2001. A second collection of short stories, Midnight All Day, was published in 2000, followed in --This text refers to the paperback edition.

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