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The Buddha of Suburbia

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About this listen

 A Radio 4 Book Club Selection.

The hero of Hanif Kureishi's debut novel is a dreamy teenager, desperate to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving, albeit with some rude and raucous results.

©1990 Hanif Kureishi (P)2003 BBC Audiobooks Ltd Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

"An astonishing book, full of intelligence and elan." ( Publishers Weekly)
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This is a great story performed by Mick Jagger; however, the recording needs updating as the sound quality isn’t great and changes with some rough edits. Still very good though.

Enjoy listening

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Worst quality audiobook I had listened to, you can clearly notice the start of a new recording session. I think at times the narrator left room while still reading and still recording.

Worst quality audiobook I had listened to

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Well after reading all the reviews I was not looking forward to listening to this book!!
However, I found Christopher Simpsons voice perfect. He had such attitude in his voice and his portrayal of Karim’s father and Changez was really entertaining. The book was so insightful of that era and a very enjoyable read. I do agree that the quality of the recording was off putting but it did get better further into the book. I would recommend it despite this.

I loved the narration!!

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It started so well but towards the end seemed self indulgent with no purpose. On the basis that it is a complete fabrication then I don’t get the message. I thought we were building up to something, not just some sexual exploits. I did not like the main character. I wanted him to be more than just selfish.

A story with an ending that lets you down

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The audio is echoey and even has the sound of people talking in the background. A disservice to an otherwise good book.

Terrible Recording, Good Book.

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