Buddha of Suburbia Critique - Book Report/Review Example

Vivek Lahoti 21st December 2008 Buddha of Suburbia Karim: "I am an Englishman born and bred, almostEnglishman I am (though not proud of it), from the South London suburbs and going somewhere." (Kureishi, 1) Welcome to the world of a Karim Amir, a teenager in middle class suburban London, standing at the cross roads of two very strikingly different cultures. Karim is seventeen years old, the son of an eccentric Indian father and working-class English mother. Karim is on the cusp of adulthood - his hormones are in a state of riot. About the Novel: "Buddha of Suburbia" is an autobiographical novel by Hanif Kureishi, which follows a young boy, Karim, from the end of high school through adulthood, as he navigates family, sex, racism, friendship, spirituality and politics. The book is awash with wonderfully vivid characters, a key one being London itself, buzzing to the vibration of 1970s music and drugs culture. 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. The "Buddha of Suburbia" will not be to everyone's taste. It is filled with cynical sarcasm rubbishing any kind of superficiality and ridiculing the societal notions. However, it deals with many issues relations in London during the 70's period. It is modern, very funny and thought provoking. The Plot: In the start, you can feel the suffocating boredom of Karim's family life, with parents who live together but fail to find enthusiasm in each other. But before you have a chance to fully digest and process the scene you're on to the next vignette. The protagonist of the novel is a 17 year old British-Indian 'hybrid' teenager in suburban London whose father, Haroon, is a mystique psychic, and mom Margaret, is frivolously perennially nervous and insecure like a fish out of water. Though Haroon is employed as a civil servant, he makes a lot of top money for teaching people the 'Eastern philosophies' of which he hardly knows anything at all. His wife doesn't really approve of this and doesn't want her 'Indian' husband to be confused with the "swarms of Indian peasants who came to England in the 1950s and 1960s." (Kureishi, 24) Haroon plays a two-timer - when not preaching he engages in an affair with a rich 'hippy' lady named Eva Kay. Eva, herself doesn't seem to be a very balanced personality and seems to have an eternal problem with the society: "Eva was planning her assault on London she was not ignored by London once she started her assault. She was climbing ever higher, day by day As Eva started to take London, moving forward over the foreign fields of Islington, Chiswick and Wandsworth inch by inch, party by party, contact by contact." When Haroon's wife Margaret comes to know of her husband's infidelity, she gets the shock of her life and separates from them. She becomes an increasingly isolated and pathetic figure, supported only by her sister, Karim's Aunty Jean and - more ambiguously - the latter's husband Ted. Their quasi-racist consideration towards Haroon ultimately puts them in sync. Amidst the breakdown of his parent's marriage, Karim can't help but stay with his father and his new found love and starts out with a career on the stage. Eva Kay has a son called Charlie, who by the way happens to be gay and aspires to become a famous rocker. Haroon is shown to be a selfish and self-centered person and doesn't care what happens to the rest of the world and is more absorbed with his adulterous relationship with Eva. Karim becomes very vulnerable and is easily lured into the famous 'pop culture' of drugs and music. He goes to parties and pubs with his father and is exposed to 'weirdoes' at the Kensington pub. Humorously, Kureishi describes their dressing sense as "alien race dressed with an abandonment and originality we'd never imagined possible". Karim's girlfriend, Jamila has a similar multi-cultural background. Though her parents are extremely traditionalist, Jamila's views are very radical. Jamila is anything but the docile daughter her father, Anwar, desires. She is of the opinion that "Security and safety were the reward of dullness."(Kureishi, 8) Jamila, being a strong character, initially refuses to get forced into an arranged marriage, but finally succumbs to Anwar's hunger-strike in defense of his belief that "Asian" parents should have the right to choose their children's spouses. However, Anwar's selection of Changez, a shambling, partly disabled idler, proves a bitter disappointment. While Karim later befriends Changez, this does not prevent him from continuing to enjoy Jamila's favors. Jamila does not hesitate at all to engage in casual sex with Karim and other men too. Changez is Jamila's husband through an arranged marriage but Jamila refuses to consummate the marriage. Sex remains symbolic between both them. Since he is time and again refused by Jamila, he starts visiting a Japanese prostitute. He seems to be the happy-go-lucky type but is held responsible for the death of Anwar after smacking him on the head with a dildo. Marital Decisions: Kureishi, through this novel, has successfully explored various marital as well as extra marital decisions. On one hand he portrays the extreme western stereotype where Haroon just doesn't care about anybody else while making rash decisions while on the other he portrays Anwar, who is a typical Indian stereotype over-protective father, who refuses his daughter the right to choose her own partner and ends up ruining her and her partner's life as well. Karim's mom Margaret: Margaret, though a westerner got married to Haroon, an Indian immigrant, must be somewhere in the 1940's is my natural assumption. This fact in itself proves that she was basically a very broadminded person, beyond racism or any other prejudice existing at that time. Theirs cannot be an arranged marriage or a 'by-chance' wedding, meaning that they were both interested in each other. However, over time their wedding has gone stale and that can be a main reason why her husband strays away. When she becomes aware of her husbands illicit relationship with Eva, her notions and her world is shattered. Her self respect cannot allow her to continue her 'normal' life with Haroon and so she takes refuge in whoever is closest to her in her disturbed times. She goes to her sister, Jean's place to find some peace but stumbles on her husband Ted, not realizing that she may create a similar havoc in her life. Karim's girlfriend Jamila: Jamila has a fiery personality which cannot be intimidated by societal norms. Yet, she is quite homely and attached to her father for the very reason that instead of running away, she ultimately respected her father's insistence of getting married to Changez. Jamila was not interested in Changez for two reasons. Firstly, she thought he was not fit for her and secondly, he was thrusted on her. Her parents should have understood her nature and respected her space. Anyways, though she is married to Changez, she doesn't recognize him as her husband. She revolts back by having sex outside her wedlock more as a sort of protest than out of love for someone else. Karim just happens to be there to take advantage of the situation. Jamila's Husband Changez: Changez was a simple character who was punished for no fault of his. He was disabled before their marriage and Jamila's father knew that. Even Jamila knew it but yet got married to Changez, just because of her father. Changez didn't force Jamila to marry him. Jamila continues her affairs even after her marriage. Yet, out of helplessness, Changez is not able to do much about it. At a particular level, I appreciate the broadmindedness of this character since, instead of unnecessary protesting, he just accepts things and lives and let's live. Anwar, Jamila's Father: Anwar is a typical conservative Indian father who thinks his daughter is not following the life of an ideal Indian woman by being so peculiarly active. He wants her to tone down and thinks that an arranged marriage with a timid person might help. Unfortunately, the move misfires and Jamila, instead of getting more homely turns antagonistic. Changez just looks on instead of objecting. Anwar cannot handle this and when he tries to interfere in their personal life, ends up with a dildo on his head. Haroon, Karim's Father: Haroon seems to be quite an insensitive person at least with regards to his family. His marriage with Eva seems to be more out of lust than out of love. By leaving his old wife behind he has displayed un-attachment towards not just her, but also to an extent towards Karim. The very fact that he preaches religion without knowing a thing portrays him as a conman. He has not hurt his wife's feelings but also tricked Eva who thinks that he loves her. Eva Kay, Haroon's new found love: Eva Kay sounds like an already troubled person who doesn't understand social norms and has a problem with the society. She could be what you can call as a victim of attention deficiency syndrome who thinks that the whole world is up in arms against her. She finds refuge in Haroon just for his sweet talk and fails to understand how selfish he really is. Haroon seems to be perfect for her since his sweet talking seems to console her. She fails to even realize that she is actually just being used. Or even if she does realize, she just wants Haroon to stay with her. Karim: The hero of this novel, has seen the world around him change too much too suddenly. On one hand his father, displaying extreme freedom of the western society, doesn't seem to care the breaking down of their family or the effects it can have on others, while on the other, he sees his girlfriend being married off against her own wishes, in a typical conservative Indian manner. In both the situations, more than his tolerance and understanding his helplessness gets emphasized. Even then, he doesn't seem to get bitter, which I think is a positive side of his personality. He be-friends his gay step-brother Charlie and also Jamila's husband Changez. With a bit of his fathers genes rubbed on, he too finds no problem in having an adulterous relation with Jamila. Works Cited Kureishi, Hanif The Buddha of Suburbia - Penguin Books, 1990 . Read More