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Embracing Suburbia: Breaking Tradition and Accepting the Self in Hanif

Kureishis The Buddha of Suburbia
<1> In the preface to her recent interview with Hanif Kureishi, Susie Thomas claims that
his body of work (which includes drama, screenplays, novels, short fiction and essays) is
the most wide-ranging and significant produced in England during the past quarter
century, and goes so far as to claim that Kureishi has irrevocably altered the English self-
image (3). In Simon Friths analysis of Kureishis semi-autobiographical debut novel The
Buddha of Suburbia (1990), he declares that it is the most incisive suburban fiction of
recent times (271). Although Kureishi is unquestionably a significant writer and in many
respects an innovator, The Buddha of Suburbia continues a lengthy tradition of British
literary engagement with suburbia and contains many traditional and stereotypical
representations. It is fitting that Kureishi examines London suburbia, since it was in
London that the first modern suburbs developed during the eighteenth century (Ball 20).
As the suburbs grew and multiplied, British writers used suburbia as both a setting and a
subject, usually depicting it negatively. Suburbia quickly came to be identified in the public
consciousness with the working class, and, more commonly, the lower-middle class.[1]
<2> In Coming up for Air (1939), George Orwell describes a suburban road as a prison
with cells in a row. A line of semi-detached torture chambers (Qtd. in Webster 2). Orwells
disparaging attitude towards suburbia is part of a long tradition within British literature that
originates in the nineteenth century, if not earlier (Webster 2). Rita Felski describes
Orwells early fiction as devoted to a ruthlessly detailed portrayal of the English lower
middle class of the 1930s The same landscape reappears in novel after novel,
enfolding and stifling its inhabitants in the death grip of mingy decency. It is a world of
identical small semidetached houses stretching into infinity (35). Linking Kureishis novel
to Orwells negative depictions of suburbia, Felski notes that the petit bourgeois structures
of feeling mapped out described by Kureishi are remarkably similar to those described by
Orwell (37). In categorizing the protagonist Karim Amirs family as lower-middle class,
Felski notes father Haroons occupation as a civil servant and mother Margarets position
as a sales assistant (26). Felski argues that in Kureishis depiction, being lower-middle
class is still marked by respectability, rigidity, and gray routine [Kureishis novel
contains] the same guilt about money, anxiety about status, and fear of the neighbors
disapproval as Orwells fiction (37).
<3> The negative attitudes towards suburbia that Orwell and Kureishi depict persist widely
in contemporary British culture. Dominic Head argues that many novelists continue to
disparage suburbia, and that British literature has failed to recognize suburbias
sociological importance (Poisoned Minds 72). In his recent survey, The Cambridge
Introduction to Modern British Fiction, 1950-2000, Head acknowledges the dramatic
spread of suburbia (209) and its influence on fiction, noting that British cultural
connotations of the term are mostly negative:
Perceived as embodying a world-view, the suburban state of mind can be ridiculed,
consigned to the intellectual margins, just as its actual physical space notionally occupies
the urban margins. In the popular imagination, then, suburbia is Middle England; it is
preoccupied with shopping and cars; it breeds narrow attitudes, and wears naff styles; and
it is mystified by artistic endeavour. (213)
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Head goes on to argue that British novelists have played their part in establishing
suburbia as an object of ridicule, concluding that negative depictions of suburbia are
problematic, since commentators tend to accord suburbia a central place in the
explanation of twentieth-century experience (Cambridge 213, 214). Head describes post-
war British fictional engagement with suburbia as consisting of stereotypical
representations of suburban life that depict it as deadening, unimaginative, [and]
representative of a low or restricted common denominator (Cambridge 218). As Simon
Goulding notes, The role of the suburbs in English fiction is usually that of a pejorative
space. Head questions whether suburban life can really be as homogenous as British
fiction suggests, arguing that a more diverse culture actually exists beneath the surface
uniformity (Cambridge 218). Moreover, Roger Silverstone argues that suburbia is central
to contemporary culture and that understanding suburbia is an integral part of the project
of understanding everyday life in contemporary industrialized and industrializing societies
(Introduction 3; Preface ix).
<3> In addressing the lack of cultural significance accorded to suburbia, Roger Webster
states that it is usually understood in opposition to another zone, such as the country or
city, and occupies a space as much defined by what it is not as by what it is, constructed
by difference and imitation rather than possessing innate and original features (2). Susan
Brook notes that the stereotype of suburbia as homogenous and conformist is pervasive,
not only in popular culture but also in contemporary literary and cultural criticism (209).
Brook notes that suburbia is represented as the (often demonized) other of city life: safe
where the city is dangerous; conformist where the city is heterogeneous; monotonous and
enervating where the city is diverse and stimulating; the site of heterosexual family life
where the city opens up the potential for sexual experimentation and possibility (209).
Like Head, Brook posits that false representations of suburbia as a homogeneous zone
serve to conceal difference (212). In his essay entitled Deep South, Ged Pope argues
that suburbia has been an enormously popular and successful metropolitan habitat for its
inhabitants, yet fictional representations have mocked, despised, scapegoated and
stereotyped suburbia, depicting it as remote, unknowable, philistine, standardised and
insignificant.
<4> Much of the action of Kureishis novel takes place in the suburb of Bromley, where
Kureishi was born in 1954. Bromleys geographical location, approximately ten miles from
London Bridge, lead to its inevitable development into a London suburb during the late
nineteenth century (Childs 101).[2] The Buddha of Suburbia participates in a long tradition
of British fictional engagement with suburbia, and includes traditional and stereotypical
representations by presenting the suburbs in opposition to the city, describing suburbia as
a site to be escaped, and including depictions of suburban boredom, conformity and
consumerism. Nevertheless, Kureishi simultaneously breaks with British literary tradition
and embraces suburbia, depicting it in an innovative manner by demonstrating that it is a
dynamic cultural site where a new hybrid British identity is constructed.
Traditional Suburban Representations in The Buddha of Suburbia
<5> Kureishi divides his novel into two sections, In The Suburbs and In The City,
setting up a binary construction that seems to privilege the city as the more authentic
cultural site. From the first page of the novel, the suburbs of South London are frequently
depicted as boring, conformist and consumerist. Phillip Whyte reads Karims suburban
environment as mediocre lower-middle class (153). Karims mother Margaret, a white
Englishwoman, is a typical suburban housewife: bored, depressed, and neglected.
Margaret works in a suburban shoe store, but is usually depicted at home, where she
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engages in domestic chores, watches hours of television each evening, wears an apron
with flowers on it and repeatedly wipes her hands on a tea towel (4). Karim claims his
parents would not consider getting divorced, because In the suburbs people rarely
dreamed of striking out for happiness. It was all familiarity and endurance: security and
safety were the reward of dullness (8).
<6> Although a more complex character, Karims father, Haroon, lives the stereotypical life
of a suburban father, walking to the railway station, commuting to a boring job in the city,
and coming home to an unhappy wife and indifferent children. Peter Childs argues that
Haroon conforms to the stereotypical image of the commuting Civil Servant whose
suburban boredom has to be enlivened by exoticism and extramarital sex (103). Although
he is an immigrant from India, Haroon has lived in the suburbs of South London for fifteen
years and adopted a suburban lifestyle. In accordance with British literary tradition, Haroon
finds his suburban existence unsatisfactory. Annabelle Cone argues that Haroon yearns
to overcome ... a loneliness derived from his inability to find happiness as an Indian
immigrant in an English, middle-class, postwar, suburban, materialist culture (262). Aware
of his fathers dissatisfaction, Karim wonders why Haroon condemned his own son to a
dreary suburb of London (23).
<7> Although Karim clearly equates suburbia with boredom, he recognizes that his
physical and social environment is not entirely to blame, and posits that the real cause
may be his hybrid cultural and ethnic background: Perhaps it is the odd mixture of
continents and blood, of here and there, of belonging and not, that makes me restless and
easily bored (3). Karim links boredom to a lack of excitement: I was looking for trouble,
any kind of movement, action and sexual interest I could find, because things were so
gloomy, so slow and heavy, in our family (3). Although one could read Karims yearning
for action and excitement as another stereotypical characteristic of suburban teenagers,
Karim attributes the lack of excitement to his family situation. The extent to which suburbia
causes his familys unhappiness is a matter open for interpretation.
<8> Another way in which Kureishi conforms to traditional portrayals of suburbia is by
highlighting suburban consumerism. Karim claims, They were fanatical shoppers in our
suburbs ... Saturday afternoons ... [were] a carnival of consumerism as goods were ripped
from shelves (65). When describing the houses in the suburb of Chislehurst, Karim
focuses on the physical manifestations of affluence: The houses ... had greenhouses,
grand oaks and sprinklers on the lawn; men came in to do the garden (29). Karim and his
family are not above being impressed by wealth, despite his derision of other peoples
consumerism. He admits, It was so impressive for people like us that when our families
walked these streets [in Chislehurst] on Sunday visits to Auntie Jean wed treat it as a
lower-middle class equivalent of the theatre. Ahhh and oohh, wed go, imagining we
lived there, what times wed have, and how wed decorate the place (29). In this instance,
Karim and his family dream of moving up socially and financially, not of moving out of
suburbia, but rather moving across suburbia into a more affluent zone.
<9> The most obvious and notable way in which Kureishi conforms to traditional
representations of suburbia is by situating the suburbs as a site to be escaped, and the
city as the cultural centre where freedom and excitement are found. According to Barry
Langford, Kureishis novel follows a long tradition depicting suburban life as unfreedom
and dissimulation, a picture easily duplicated across innumerable treatments of suburbia
(64). Likewise, Childs notes that South Asian writing (a category in which Kureishi is often
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placed) often positions suburbia ... as a place to be escaped (98). Having grown-up in
Bromley himself, Kureishi admits, being a suburban boy, Ive never lost the romance of
London: the idea of coming to London and it always being exciting and it always being dull
in the suburbs (Qtd. in Yousaf 16).
<10> Karim repeatedly expresses his desire and intention to flee the suburbs for the city,
stating on just the third page of the novel, I always wanted to be somewhere else (5),
then three pages later, It would be years before I could get away to the city, London,
where life would be bottomless in its temptations (8). For Karim, central London
represents excitement, opportunity, glamour and freedom, whereas he equates the
suburbs with materialism, conformity, racism, dullness and low expectations. Although
Karim is not able to leave the suburbs until halfway through the novel, his surroundings
constantly inspire him to do so: it did me good to be reminded of how much I loathed the
suburbs, and that I had to continue my journey into London and a new life, ensuring I got
away from people and streets like this (101). Childs claims that most English novels set in
suburbia contain plots driven by fears of incorporation, stagnation, and resignation that
turn on the yearning of one or more characters to flee to the city (97). In The Buddha of
Suburbia, Karim, Haroon, Eva and Charlie all dream of fleeing the suburbs.
<11> Karim believes that escaping from the suburbs into the city will solve his problems
and bring him happiness. Before Karim migrates into the city, he notes that Eva and
Haroon have been frequenting London, going to dinners and parties with all kinds of
(fairly) important people not the sort we knew in the suburbs, but the real thing: people
who really did write and direct plays and not just talk about it (113). Clearly, Karim sees
London as the cultural centre, and perceives the city-dwellers as a separate and unique
group of people who are not just more sophisticated, but more proactive. In the last
paragraph of the first section of the novel, before Karim moves out of the suburbs into the
city, he lies in bed fantasizing about London and what Id do there when the city belonged
to me (121). Undoubtedly, Karim believes that the city will give him opportunities for
happiness and excitement that suburbia cannot.
Culture, Complexity and Variety in Suburbia
<12> Despite the fact that The Buddha of Suburbia conforms to traditional British literary
representations of suburbia in numerous ways, close reading of the novel reveals that
Kureishis depiction of suburbia is rather complex and not entirely negative. Just as
negative and stereotypical depictions of suburbia are present throughout the novel, so are
more complicated and nuanced portrayals. The narrative begins with Karim recounting the
prelude to an unusual and exciting evening at Evas house, where Haroon appears for the
first time in his role as the Buddha of suburbia. When Haroon arrives home from work,
Karim states, I could smell the train on him as he put his briefcase away behind the front
door (3); however, this mundane ritual of suburban life is followed by a deviation: Haroon
kisses his wife and sons with enthusiasm, and then strips to his underwear and practices
meditating. As the evening unfolds, Karim watches his father successfully perform as a
spiritual leader to a roomful of bohemian suburbanites, witnesses his father having sex in
the garden with Eva, and initiates a homosexual encounter with Evas son, Charlie. Thus,
in Kureishis suburbia, an evening may contain Eastern mysticism, an extramarital affair,
interracial sex, homosexual experimentation, and the consumption of both drugs and
alcohol; this is hardly boring, conformist behaviour. Nahem Yousaf argues that in order for
the protagonist to want to escape from the suburbs, Kureishi has to portray them as
sufficiently banal, yet he also claims, some of the most surreal scenes take place in
Karims neighborhood. In suburbia, Karim undertakes an apprenticeship in how to be
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transgressive (40). Thus, beneath the seemingly boring and predictable surface,
Kureishis suburbia contains a plethora of exciting and transgressive possibilities.
<13> In opposition to traditional British literary representations of suburbia, Kureishi
depicts the South London suburbs as a location of culture. Not all suburbanites spend their
evenings watching television, like Margaret; many are engaged in the production and
consumption of culture. Haroon and Eva meet at a writing for pleasure class in Bromley
(7). The popularity of Haroons performances is evidence of an openness and
appreciation amongst suburbanites of both spirituality and foreign cultures. During their
journey across the South London suburbs to Evas house, Karim and Haroon stop at
the Three Tuns pub in Beckenham. Rather than lower-middle class after-work culture-
deficient drinkers, Karim and Haroon find that
The pub was full of kids dressed like [Karim] the boys, so nondescript during the day,
now wore cataracts of velvet and satin, and bright colours; some were in bedspreads and
curtains. The little groovers talked esoterically of Syd Barrett. To have an elder brother
who lived in London and worked in fashion, music or advertising was an inestimable
advantage at school. I had to study the Melody Maker and New Musical Express to keep
up. (8)
Although the suburban boys perceive London as the cultural centre, they are aware of the
trends and participate in the culture from suburbia. Karims fellow suburban teenagers are
so culturally engaged and aware that he feels ignorant in comparison. Thus, suburbia,
which may seem uniform and boring, reveals much beneath the surface. Clearly, the
suburbs are not devoid of cultural opportunities and pursuits. Webster argues that
suburbias homogeneity is a superficial myth obscuring behaviour ranging from the
discordant and bizarre to the comic and tragic (2).
<14> Moreover, most of the suburban characters in the novel are cultured and educated.
Haroon and Eva are both avid readers and amateur writers. Charlie becomes an
international rock star and cultural icon. Even as a suburban schoolboy, Charlie possesses
a confidence and sophistication usually (falsely) associated with the city. Karims younger
brother, Allie, is also quite sophisticated, reading fashion magazines in bed while wearing
red silk pyjamas and a smoking jacket (19). Further, Allie intends to become a ballet
dancer and [attends] an expensive private school (19); he eventually finds work in the
fashion industry. Two minor characters in the novel, Carl and Marianne, the hosts of one of
Haroons performances, live in a suburban home filled with books and records and take
trips to India (34). Kureishis suburbia is a long way from Orwells.
<15> Although Karim clearly takes his cultural cues from London, especially in terms of
music and fashion, it is in suburbia, at Evas house, that he has an epiphany regarding
how he wants to live: I could see my life clearly for the first time: the future and what I
wanted to do. I wanted to live always this intensely: mysticism, alcohol, sexual promise,
clever people and drugs. I hadnt come upon it all like this before, and now I wanted
nothing else. The door to the future had opened: I could see which way to go (15).
Ironically, Karim mistakenly believes that he has to escape suburbia to obtain the kind of
life he has glimpsed there. It is not until late in the novel that he realizes that the city does
not have a monopoly on culture and excitement and that they have always been present in
suburbia.
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<16> Although they reside in suburbia, Karim and his father mock other suburbanites and
their shallow consumerism. Karim notes that his Aunt Jean always made everyone take
off their shoes at the front door in case [they] ... obliterated the carpet by walking over it
twice. Dad said, when we went in once, What is this, Jean, a Hindu temple? ... They were
so fastidious about any new purchase that their three-year old car still had plastic on the
seats (41). Head argues that Haroons mocking of Jean is an example of his exposure of
the spiritual emptiness of the suburbanites (Poisoned Minds 82); however, while Head
may be correct here, not all of the suburbanites in the novel are spiritually empty. Haroon
is obviously a spiritual leader of sorts, and his followers attempt to add a spiritual
dimension to their suburban lives.[3]
<17> Many of the youth of Kureishis suburbia are deeply involved in popular culture,
especially music. Much of the music referred to in the novel, such as that produced by Bob
Dylan, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and David Bowie, is considered to be
groundbreaking art of the highest order. Karim states, It was easy to get most of the
music you wanted from the shops in the High Street (62); a journey into London is
unnecessary. The suburban youth in The Buddha of Suburbia are active participants in
various forms of culture. In fact, Langford argues that suburbia is the location from which
many subcultures originate (65). Although most of the aforementioned artists are not
usually associated with suburbia, they are certainly not associated exclusively with the city
either. Clearly, the notion that suburbia lacks culture, or that culture can be contained in a
geographic space such as the city, is absurd.
<18> The first section of the novel, In The Suburbs, contains a descriptive passage that
some readers may interpret as evidence of suburbias monotony and conformity. Karim,
Helen and Jamila walk past neat gardens and scores of front rooms containing familiar
strangers and televisions shining like dying lights (74). Such a description may be read as
evidence of suburbias homogeneity and consumerism; alternatively, it may be read as
confirmation of suburbias multiplicity. Karim goes on to describe some of the inhabitants
of his suburb in detail:
Here lived Mr Whitman, the policeman, and his young wife, Noleen; next door were a
retired couple, Mr and Mrs Holub. They were socialists in exile from Czechoslovakia ...
Opposite them were another retired couple, a teacher and his wife, the Gothards. An East
End family of birdseed dealers, the Lovelaces, were next to them ... Further up the street
lived a Fleet Street reporter, Mr Nokes, his wife and their overweight kids, with the
Scoffields Mrs Scoffield was an architect, next door to them. (74)
Karims description reveals a tremendous amount of variety amongst the residents of a
single street. At least five different occupations are present, as are three distinct age
groups and a family from Czechoslovakia; such a community is hardly homogenous or
boring.[4] Kureishis representation of suburbia does not simply replicate the negative
stereotypes repeated throughout British literature since the nineteenth century; instead,
Kureishi create a suburban environment filled with culture, complexity and variety.
London Calling: Karims Urban Encounter
<19> The second section of the novel, In The City, begins with Karim moving to West
Kensington to live with Haroon, Eva and Charlie in a flat Eva has purchased after selling
her suburban home. Isaias Naranjo Acosta argues that Karims journey into London is a
kind of pilgrimage (54). Indeed, Karim has long fantasized about travelling into the city and
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making his home there. However, he soon finds that the reality of the city is less appealing
than the fantasy. Evas flat was really only three large, formerly elegant rooms, like a
derelict cathedral, with ancient crusty mouldings and sad walls; It was like a student
flat, a wretched and dirty gaff (125). Not only is the flat run-down, there is no bed for
Karim and he must sleep on the sofa.
<20> Karims migration from suburbia into the city is interpreted by Ball as an escape
from the inhibitions of adolescence to adult freedom (23). However, before leaving
Bromley, Karim led a carefree life with few responsibilities, and soon finds that life in the
city is more difficult. Although London does prove to be different from the suburbs in many
ways and provides exciting experiences, it certainly does not provide Karim with fulfilment
or a strong sense of belonging. Almost immediately after arriving, Karim feels
directionless and lost (126), depressed and lonely (128). Karim finds that the city is
intimidating and occupied by piss-heads, bums, derelicts and dealers (131); crime and
violence are more prevalent in the city than suburbia. Ball claims that London represents
all that is English and continues to project and to be associated with images of the old
imperial city at the fulcrum of world culture and political influence ... even as its
infrastructure declines, its Empire vanishes, and its global stature withers (15). The
traditional notions of Englishness represented by London contrast with the emerging
hybrid British identity represented by Karim, who finds that he is an outsider due to his
suburban upbringing and race. Karims self-perception as an outsider is emphasized by
the difference between himself and the kids from London, whose appearance Karim
describes as fabulous; they dressed and walked and talked like little gods. We could have
been from Bombay. Wed never catch up (128). Ball argues that both Karim and Charlie
suffer from an inferiority complex ... [with] roots in a centre-envy they felt in the suburbs
(21).
<21> Anthony Ilona contends that Everywhere in Part Two of ... [the novel] London is
celebrated as a location of cultural diversity without the stifling tensions seen in the
suburbs (101). However, such an interpretation is simplistic and ignores the racist
treatment that Karim is subjected to by the theatre directors Shadwell and Pyke. In fact,
one could argue that the presence in London of many educated upper class people,
usually white, creates an environment that is more homogenous and less culturally diverse
than suburbia. The upper class individuals Karim encounters, especially Eleanor and
Pyke, expect him to play the role of the lower-middle class Asian or Black, making it
difficult for him to be himself. By playing a number of roles, both literally and figuratively,
Karim distances himself from his suburban roots, and, for a time, loses himself. Ball
argues that Karims move to London becomes a local, miniaturized version of postcolonial
migrancy and culture-shock (21). If in London Karim finds the centre of English culture, he
also finds that, according to traditional notions of Englishness, he is an alien from the
margins. Karims London encounter teaches him that the educated, cultural elite can be
just as racist and narrow-minded as the lower-middle class whites of the suburbs, if not
more so. Alamgir Hashmi contends that although Karim initially sees the city as a final
escape and an achievement, his experiences in the city teach him that he has still further
to go in search of that which will suffice (29). Thus, London is not Karims final destination,
but a layover on his journey towards accepting his true identity. Ultimately, for Karim,
London does not prove to be a more satisfactory location than suburbia.
Get Back: Karims Journey to Self-Awareness and Acceptance
<22> The Buddha of Suburbia begins in the present tense, with Karim establishing that he
is about to tell the story of his personal development. The narration shifts to the past tense
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in the second paragraph, and stays there until the novels conclusion. Thus, both the
audience and the narrator are aware that a journey has been completed before the
narration begins. If Karims journey begins in suburbia and takes him to London and then
New York, where will it eventually lead him? Head argues that Karims personal
development is predicated on his progression from the suburbs of South London to the
metropolitan centre (82). However, Karims journey continues beyond London, concluding
with a metaphorical return to the suburbs in the sense that Karim comes to accept
suburbia as his formative environment, in addition to an acceptance and knowledge of his
own personal identity, which is representative of the emerging hybrid British identity. Stuart
Hall argues that identity should be thought of as a production which is never complete,
always in process (234). Kureishis depiction of Karims identity conforms to Halls theory;
not only is Karims identity constantly evolving throughout the novel, the narrative finishes
with an open-ended conclusion, suggesting that Karim will undergo further
transformations.
<23> The narrative thread focusing on Karims journey towards recognition and
acceptance of his suburban identity is noted by Head, who argues that although Karims
journey might suggest the need for the ambitious individual to exorcise the suburbanite
from his or her soul, the novel contains an undercurrent which runs counter to the theme
of escape, and which implies the need for suburban roots to be recognised (Poisoned
Minds 82). Likewise, Langford posits that interpreting the novel as a celebration of Karims
escape is a deceptively simple reading, since Kureishi actually undermines such an
interpretation (68). Head goes so far as to argue that The Buddha of Suburbia might
incorporate an implicit celebration ... of suburbias role in fashioning a new cultural mood
(Poisoned Minds 82). Similarly, Webster claims that suburbias growth and ever-
changing identity have made it an increasingly significant producer ... of culture (5).
Thus, not only does the novel contain recognition of the importance of Karims suburban
roots, it also highlights the central role suburbia plays in the production of culture, breaking
with traditional literary representations of suburbia.
<24> In order to become fully aware of his identity, Karim must leave his formative
environment and encounter people from other classes, social groups and physical
environments. Thus, Karims move to London allows the city and its residents to function
as a mirror in which Karim can begin to recognize himself. As the narrative progresses,
Karim gradually becomes more aware of his suburban identity.[5] After Charlie and Karim
witness their first punk performance, Charlie claims, weve got to change, suggesting to
Karim that their suburban identity is insufficient: What are you saying? We shouldnt keep
up? That suburban boys like us always know where its at? (132). In response, Karim
states, Were not like them. We dont hate the way they do. Weve got no reason to.
Were not from the estates. We havent been through what they have (132). Whyte
mistakenly argues that the shock ... [Karim] and Charlie feel when first confronted with the
contempt of the London punks is a symptom of Karims inability to situate his origins
(156). However, what the situation really reveals is that Karim recognizes his suburban
identity and his relationship to other social groups, and acknowledges the privilege and
comfort of a suburban upbringing.
<25> During one of the encounters in which he is demeaned by Shadwell, Karim again
demonstrates a growing awareness and acceptance of his suburban identity: I wanted to
run out of the room, back to South London, where I belonged, out of which I had wrongly
and arrogantly stepped (emphasis added) (148). Additionally, Karim attributes his
scepticism towards Pyke to his South London origins (189), acknowledging that suburbia
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has played a dominant role in forming his cultural attitudes. Head argues that Karims
maturation at the end of the novel is rooted in an implicit recognition of his suburban
roots (Poisoned Minds 84). In a rare moment of insightfulness, Karim comments on
Evas attempt to abandon her own suburban roots: I saw she wanted to scour that
suburban stigma right off her body. She didnt realize it was in the blood and not on the
skin; she didnt see there could be nothing more suburban than suburbanites repudiating
themselves (134). Ball claims that Karims use of the phrase in the blood is a
deliberately outrageous appropriation of race-politics language (22); moreover, Karims
use of the phrase also serves to emphasize his growing awareness of the depths of his
roots in suburbia.
<26> From the very first line of the novel, Karim makes the audience aware of his hybrid
identity: I am an Englishman born and bred, almost. I am often considered to be a funny
kind of Englishman, a new breed as it were, having emerged from two old histories ...
Englishman I am (though not proud of it), from the South London suburbs and going
somewhere (3). Karim immediately establishes that he does not neatly fit into rigid racial
or national categories, while also acknowledging both his suburban identity and his desire
to escape. Readers soon learn that in addition to being the English-born child of an Indian
father and an English mother, raised in the suburbs of London, Karim is neither
heterosexual nor homosexual, and adheres to no religion. Thus, Karim frustrates easy
categorization according to the markers usually used by both governments and individuals,
namely, nationality, race, religion and sexual orientation. The only category into which
Karim can be neatly placed is that of suburban teenager. However, it takes Karim much
of the novel to realize that the identity that best describes him, places the least restrictions
on him, and provides him with the most freedom, is that of suburban.
<27> Karims hybrid identity is created by a number of factors; however, the most
significant factors are the suburban environment and the cultural attitudes of the
generation to which Karim belongs. Ilona describes Karims generation as one that views
identity as a relational and mutable concept. Different identities are easily assimilable,
easily performed (101). Not only does Karim adopt and discard various identities, but so
do his peers, such as Jamila and the appropriately-named Changez,[6] and, especially,
Charlie. Halls notion of identity as process applies particularly well to all of the characters
of Karims generation. Langford argues that Karims most recognizable characteristic is his
ability to accommodate to the difference of others, an attribute that is enabled by a
significant under-investment on his part in the notion of a coherent self (72). Mark Stein
claims that The Buddha of Suburbia disrespects conventional boundaries and refrains
from placing its characters exclusively within one type of formation, be it an ethnic group, a
cultural group or a class (123). While Steins argument generally holds true, and many of
the characters do not exclusively inhabit a traditional category, most of the characters
could also be placed in a category labelled suburban, particularly Karim, Charlie, Eva,
Haroon, Margaret, Jean, Ted, and Helen.
<28> In his essay The Rainbow Sign, Kureishi argues that British identity is evolving, and
that the British must learn to accept a new identity: It is the British, the white British, who
have to learn that being British isnt what it was. Now it is a more complex thing, involving
new elements. So there must be a fresh way of seeing Britain and the choices it faces: and
a new way of being British after all this time (Qtd. in Childs 105). Kureishi clearly
incorporates these ideas into his novel, most notably by creating a protagonist who is a
racial, cultural and sexual hybrid. Berthold Schoene claims that Kureishis greatest
achievement in the novel is no doubt his creation of Karim, who emerges as a radically
10

deconstructive presence in a world obsessed with clear-cut definitions of cultural or ethnic
identity (117).[7] Schoene describes Karim as a herald of hybridity, the carrier of a
cultural potential based on intercommunal negotiation rather than multicultural definition,
on individual being-in-flux rather than communal stereotyping or (self-)oppressive role-
play (17-18). Kureishi has also claimed that England is primarily a suburban country and
English values are suburban values (Qtd. in Ball 20). In Karim, Kureishi combines his
ideas regarding suburbia and British identity to create a character embodying both.
Langford describes Karims adaptability as suburban malleability and argues that
Kureishi uses Karim to celebrate ambiguity and hybridity (73). Childs concurs with
Langfords assessment of Kureishis project, arguing that in Kureishis writing, Britishness
has been reimagined from a monolithic to a variegated identity which itself has often been
positioned in, and in terms of, suburbia (92).
<29> The Buddha of Suburbia concludes with Karim accepting an offer to play the
rebellious student son of an Indian shopkeeper on a soap opera (259). When considering
the offer, Karim notes that the show would have an audience of millions; he would have a
lot of money and be recognized all over the country (259). Head notes that the soap
opera represents popular suburban culture which is able to adapt itself; to engage with
issues of ethnicity and opportunity (Poisoned Minds 87). It is appropriate that Karim,
representative of the new hybrid British identity, should have the opportunity to become a
household name though a suburban medium. Head concludes that Karim is the
embodiment of suburban multicultural identity (Poisoned Minds 87). Kureishis
representation of British nationality is, according to Ilona, in direct contrast to essentialist
notions (89). Thus, Kureishi not only breaks British literary tradition by producing a
complex and cultured suburban environment, he also eschews traditional, deeply rooted
notions of British national identity and presents a model for a new hybrid British identity.
Endnotes
[1] Rita Felski argues that being a member of the lower-middle class is a singularly boring
identity, possessing none of the radical chic that is sometimes ascribed to working-class
roots. In fact, the lower middle class has typically been an object of scorn among
intellectuals (34). [^]
[2] Bromley is also the birthplace of H G Wells, and the setting for some of his suburban
comedies: A History of Mr Polly, The New Machiavelli, and TonoBungay (Pope). Frith
describes Bromley as the most significant suburb in British pop [music] history, as it was
the home of the quintessential suburban star, David Bowie, and the Bromley
Contingent, which spawned both Billy Idol and Siouxsie and the Banshees (271). [^]
[3] While the degree to which Haroon is a legitimate and knowledgeable spiritual leader is
debatable, and the depth of his disciples devotion is also unclear, the salient point is that
Haroon and his fellow suburbanites are open to spirituality and attempting to add it to their
lives. [^]
[4] Elizabeth de Cacqueray also reads the passage positively, noting that the placement of
the diverse side by side ... becomes positive - classes, nationalities, ages, professions
are jumbled together in [a] way suggestive of tolerant co-existence and mutual
acceptance (168). [^]
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[5] Waddick Doyle argues that Karim defines himself as suburban and upwardly mobile
(110). [^]
[6] The characters name is surely a nod to David Bowies song Changes. [^]
[7] Wendy OShea-Meddour argues that the tendency of critics such as Schoene to focus
on Karim has marginalized other characters in the body of criticism on The Buddha of
Suburbia, and has also led to the striking portrayal of women, masculinity, racism and
Islam [to be] overlooked (34, 33). [^]
A Guide to the Characters in The Buddha of Suburbia
Bridget Moloney '05, Brian Orloff '06, Emily Weiss '06, Recent Asian Diaspora
Fiction, Northwestern University
Karim
Karim is The Buddha of Suburbia's narrator and protagonist. Karim grows up in the
suburbs of London and later moves with his family to London proper. As Karim grows the
novel follows him from his teenage years into his early 20s his own worldview changes
significantly. Much of Karim's story is about identification, specifically being an
"Englishman born and bred, almost" (3). Caught between "belonging and not," between his
Indian heritage and desire to assimilate into British society, Karim invariably negotiates his
hybrid identity (3); but his character seems to posit that there is a space for both identities.
He accepts much of his Indianness but also appropriates the qualities of British teenagers,
reveling in dominant London fashions.
Like his ethnic identification, Karim's sexuality is complicated. He says that has no
preference and will sleep with anyone, male or female, though his first really important
(and defining) sexual experience is with Charlie. Karim's fluid sexuality positions him in a
liminal role namely because he does not claim a homosexual/heterosexual identity nor an
Indian/British identity exclusively; thus, he is consistently forced to negotiate between such
binaries. Karim's early sexual experiences range from various encounters with Charlie to
another, quasi-regular relationship with Jamila, his childhood friend. But their sex seems
mechanical, to be more about satisfying carnal impulses and, perhaps, simple friendship
than anything romantic, never mind emotional. Later, as Karim becomes involved in an
increasingly upwardly mobile social circle, associating with the arts community and
participating in theater, he begins a complicated sexual relationship with Eleanor, an actor.
Karim truly loves her and describes their relationship, saying, "I'd never had such a strong
emotional and physical feeling before" (187). For the first time, sex gains an emotional
component, a marked difference from his prior sexual relationships.
Karim's relationships are always compounded with an innate selfishness and reliance on
the material, or, at least, a dismissal of ideology. He is solipsistic, apolitical and is primarily
interested in succeeding but he is often plagued with a lack of motivation. Still, at the
novel's end, when there is promise of success on the horizon, Karim treats his family to
dinner and says "I began to enjoy my own generosity. . . I felt the pleasure of pleasing
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others" (283). Granted, this pleasure is fueled by materialism and money, but Karim
transforms (or begins his transmogrification) from a totally self-involved space to a place of
awareness and caring for others.
Charlie
Charlie is Eva's prodigal son and the object of Karim's affection. Characterized by Karim
as a heart-breaker, Charlie neglects Karim, "neither [phoning] since [their] last love-making
nor [bothering] to turn up" (32). Charlie's only real goal is to become famousto be a rock
starand to employ any method through which to succeed. Charlie adheres to every trend,
be it musical or in the fashion world. Although Charlie's band begins to amass an audience
and buzz, his overriding covetousness of fame and the burgeoning of the punk
movementwhich Charlie capitalizes oninspires him to abandon the band. Joining the punk
movement, Charlie was "on to new adventures," literally jettisoning those who helped him
succeed (132). Charlie changes his name to Charlie Zero and becomes an international
success and major punk star, moving to live in New York.
While in New York with his touring play, Karim lives with Charlie and begins to understand
the pressures of celebrity. Charlie attributes his international success to "selling
Englishness" (245). His character represents how individuals can profit off of other's
desires to consume something foreign. This is similar to Haroon's selling of his "exotic"
Indian traditions (245). Charlie's character is about marketing, greed, fame and a quest for
awareness and recognition. Though Charlie feels as fame would fulfill him, Kureishi seems
to posit that, for Charlie, success cannot bring total fulfillment. This message seems
congruous with his treatment of other characters' and their decisions.
Eva
Eva is the ultimate social climber. She represents, in a sense, enlightenment as she lives
her very exciting life, luring artists and intellectuals into her circle. Her enthusiasm attracts
Haroon and the two fall in love, prompting Haroon to leave his wife and break up his
family. In a sense, Eva can be defined economically as Haroon's agent, providing him with
the forums and audience through which he can market his blend of mysticism and spiritual
teachings and advance socially. Eva desires social mobility as does Haroon, mostly
through his associations with Eva; Haroon's own social goals are slightly more ambiguous,
but he and Eva function socially as a unit and she directs them upward. Similarly, they are
both characterized by Kureishi as exotic because Eva "only had one breast and where the
other traditionally was, there was nothing" (15). It's Haroon's ethnicity in his suburban
London setting which marks him as exotic. The story of her breast is never discussed, but
it becomes defining.
Moreover, Eva's lifestyle, brimming with "mysticism, alcohol, sexual promise, clever people
and drugs" becomes immediately attractive to the young Karim (15). Eva's lifestyle
engenders changes like the family's move to London but at times the novelty wears off.
Eva is incredibly supportive of her son, Charlie, willing him the success she feels he
deserves. Eva's character represents changing social mores and the falling away of
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boundaries between parent and child. Like London itself, Eva is both attractive and
mysterious and also somewhat depleting as she invariably strives to achieve.
Haroon
As the novel's namesake, Haroon is a central character in The Buddha of Suburbia. His
name and given identity changes throughout the narrative and he is given many monikers
including: "God," "Harry," "Daddio," amongst others. People call Haroon different things
because he portrays different roles. As he rises in social prominence, Haroon begins his
love affair with Eva. She throws parties at her home and he comes to entertain her guests.
Haroon portrays the "Buddha of Suburbia," using generic Eastern spiritual teachings to
garner status. Haroon defines his identity by whatever is most palatable, most marketable,
though he comes to identify and truly believe in his own teachings. Nevertheless, he
employs teachings which are not endemic to India nor his own Muslim culture such that he
can gain audience and respect from prominent Brits.
At first, Haroon's trajectory mirrors Charlie, but it's not just fame he covets. For as the
novel progresses, Haroon appears to experience guilt or (perhaps) regret for several of his
choices, including leaving his wife, though he is happy with Eva and the liberating life they
lead. Still, he comes to earnestly believe in his teachings and retreat into his spiritual
world.
As a foil character, it is especially useful to compare Haroon and Anwar as their identities
diverge. As Haroon ages, he attempts to transform into a "qualified and polished English
gentleman" while Antwar begins to identity more with (and in Haroon's eyes) Indian
traditions (24). Though the two men share a kinship formed from common background,
their goals and lifestyles engender different qualities of life. Similarly, comparing Haroon's
growth to his son Karim's illuminates the rites-of-passage both experience. Haroon
ironically profits socially and financially off of his teachings of selflessness and the
jettisoning of the material. But Haroon and Karim's trajectories seemingly coincide at the
novel's end. His studiousness and dedication show that, perhaps, like his son, Haroon has
come to place less importance in that material he previously coveted.
Anwar
Anwar and Haroon are sent to England together in their twenties, but they have very
different ideas about almost everything. Anwar opens a market and father's a very political
daughter, Jamila. When Jamila refuses to marry an Indian man that Anwar has selected
he goes on a hunger strike. Jamila speaks to Haroon about it and one of the major
themes of the novel is highlighted. "Anwar is my oldest friend in the world, he said sadly
when we told him everything. We old Indians come to like this England less and less
and we return to an imagined India." Anwar is a foil to the character of Haroon another
example of the nostalgia that permeates the depictions of many of the characters, the
deep seated longing for things past is seen in both of the characters. Anwar seemingly
represents a more traditional Indian immigrant and yet Kureshi is sure to prevent any
absolutes to be drawn. Anwar is the closest character to a stereotype that is presented
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and yet he is too complex and tempered by his daughter's humanity to read simply as a
type. He owns a market and wants his daughter to be in an arranged marriage but he also
loved to goof around as a young man. Kureshi presents an image and then works to build
a history, a story to skew the readers perspective. Anwar accuses Haroon of "having been
seduced by the West" (211). Anwar, however, like Haroon is a man who selects his
history, creates his own past and belief system, partly in protest and greatly in response to
his own unhappiness and confusion. "Anwar . . . for most of his life had never shown any
interst in going back to India. He was always honest about this" (212). It is striking that
Anwar is depicted in terms that make him seem much older than Haroon, his is always
written of as the more responsible man, the more traditional man, and yet both's religious
beliefs emerge when it is a valuable commodity, or out of habit.
Jamila
Jamila is the most political of Karim's friends from the suburbs, as a child she spends a
considerable amount of time in the library under the tutelage of a white librarian, Miss
Cutmore. The books she reads initially thrill Jamila and the records she listens to through
Miss Cutmore, however her opinions changed after Miss Cutmore moved to Bath. Karim,
when speaking of this extracurricular education, says "(Jamila) drove me mad by saying
Miss Cutmore had colonized her, but Jamila was the strongest-willed person I'd met: no
one could turn her into a colony. Anyway, I hated ungrateful people. Without Miss
Cutmore, Jamila wouldn't have even heard the word 'colony.' Miss Cutmore started you
off, I told her" (53). Karim addresses Jamila's politics by remarking at times they were
French and at times they were Black American. Beyond just identifying with Black
Americans she adopts actions and ideas and applies them. Jamila also experiments, much
like Karim, with her sexuality, engaging in casual sex with Karim as well as other men and
women. Jamila is a symbol of the rapiditly changing politics and social climate in the world
of the novel. It is through Jamila's causes that the reader is given a view of London's
socio-political climate, outside of Karim's self-centered experience.
Changez
Changez is an Indian national who is arranged to be married to Jamila. Although the entire
novel addresses sex directly, Changez and Jamila are they characters with whom sex is
most symbolic. When Changez moves to London and marries Jamila he is confronted with
her absolute refusal to consummate their marriage. Karim gives Changez some Doyle
novels that whet his sexual appetite. This is a nice twist on the exoticization of Orientalism.
It is not the Easterner that comes bearing forbidden sexuality, it is the European that
introduces desire. Changez then begins visiting a Japanese prostitute, a further tweaking
of Orientalism and comes to an understanding with Jamila, who continues to sleep with
Karim and others. Changez is the newest immigrant in the novel and in some ways the
happiest to "adapt". Changez is the truly the "other," he is from India, physically disabled
and not familiar with the ideology all those close to him adhere to. It is largely through sex
and negotiating his sexual relationship with Jamila he recognizes what responsibility he
wants to have and how to feel fulfilled. Changez is responsible for Anwar's death in an
actualization of the importance of sexuality, Anwar sees Changez on the street and
15

charges him with intent to maim or kill, Changez had been recently shopping for sex toys
and hits Anwar on the head with a dildo. This head trauma sends Anwar to his death. "The
old man", the man who previously represented the most classical images of India was
murdered by the son-in-law he hated, who does not sleep with his daughter, wielding a sex
aid; it is as if the younger people in the book are killing the older, more nostalgic
characters with their sexuality and politics.
Terry
Terry performs the role of the snake in the director Shadwell's version of The Jungle
Book with Karim. Terry believes he will absolutely get a call from a famous director one
day for a great part. He is bitterly disappointed and jealous when Karim is invited to star in
Pyke's show instead of him. Pyke is a famous experimental director who Terry admires for
his work, but not his values.
Terry abides by the system of the working class. He believes in equality for everyone and
that, "people were made by the impersonal forces of history"(162). Instead of striving for
gradual improvement, Terry thinks that in order for things to improve they must go
drastically downhill first. Karim admires Terry because he believes in equality, but Karim
does not want to sacrifice his accomplishments to be treated like everyone else as Terry
does. Terry trusts the working class to defeat racist organizations and combat left-wing
politicians, radical lawyers, and even liberals. Terry's political passion does not get him
very far; he hypocritically acts on a TV show about cops just for the money.
Pyke
Matthew Pyke is a major alternative theatre director who casts Karim in his London show
about class. He wants to make each actor's performance as genuine as possible by having
his actors observe people close to them. He especially wants to incorporate different
ethnicities into his show to make it more colorful. Pyke uses Karim for his Indian identity
and foreignness. He says about Karim's aunts and uncles, "I bet they're fascinating" (170).
Pyke romanticizes Karim's family simply because they could be of a different ethnicity and
thus exotic. His theory of acting is, "to be someone else successfully you must be
yourself!" (220).
Pyke takes theatre very seriously, but also takes advantage of his power as a director. He
manipulates Karim into sleeping with his wife and then sleeps with Karim's girlfriend,
Eleanor. Pyke also forces himself sexually onto Karim.
Eleanor
Eleanor is an attractive actress also cast in Pyke's London show. Eleanor and Karim date
throughout its run. Eleanor's life style differs from Karim's in that she is urbane and
inhabits an "unforced bohemia"(174). She is naturally sophisticated and cultured without
putting forth effort like Karim. Karim feels his past is inadequate to her classy life. He is
mortified when she thinks his South London accent is cute. Even though she is middle
16

class and privileged, Eleanor is very unhappy and dislikes herself greatly. She is unsure in
love and cheats on Karim with their director, Pyke.