Part One - In the Suburbs, Chapter One Summary

The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi is a satirical coming of age story that deals with issues of class, race, and identity. Karim is a youth of two cultures, half Indian and half English looking for identity and fulfillment in 1970's London. Against a backdrop of class and racial tension, Karim transitions from adolescence to adulthood, trying to discover who he is and what he wants while also discovering the true meaning of home and family.

Karim Amir is a mixed-race teenager growing up in the South London suburbs. He is restless and bored until one day, when he is seventeen, his Indian father, Haroon, returns home in an unusually good mood. Haroon has been invited to speak on Eastern Philosophy to a group of interested people at...