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Course Hero. "The Buddha of Suburbia Study Guide." Course Hero. 12 Apr. 2019. Web. 1 Oct. 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Buddha-of-Suburbia/>.
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Course Hero. (2019, April 12). The Buddha of Suburbia Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved October 1, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Buddha-of-Suburbia/
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(Course Hero, 2019)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "The Buddha of Suburbia Study Guide." April 12, 2019. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Buddha-of-Suburbia/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "The Buddha of Suburbia Study Guide," April 12, 2019, accessed October 1, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Buddha-of-Suburbia/.
Hanif Kureishi
1990
Novel
Fiction
The Buddha of Suburbia is narrated in the first person by Karim Amir, whose perspective may not be entirely reliable.
The Buddha of Suburbia is told in the past tense.
Narrator Karim Amir calls his father, Haroon Amir, God and Buddha in recognition of the new position his father has assumed among bohemian Londoners searching for enlightenment. To be a buddha of a dull suburb—in Haroon's case, a "Muslim turned Buddhist"—is not, according to Karim, much of a distinction. However, the exalted titles are made from equal parts irony and adoration. They represent Karim's ambivalence as he studies his father's behavior and searches for an adult identity.
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