Product Description

Part "White Teeth", part "Adrian Mole", "Unimagined" is the captivating memoir of a Muslim boy born in Pakistan, who moves to London aged one and grows up torn between his Islamic identity and his desire to embrace the West. The endearing narrator recalls his childhood in a series of vivid snapshots: outrage as deserved victory is snatched away from him in the Karachi Bonnie Baby contest; bitterness as he is tricked out of his collection of Tarzan bubble-gum cards by junior con artists; the heady taste of success in the Metropolitan Police schools quiz; joy at passing the entrance exam to the local grammar school; uncertainty as he seeks to become a doctor (like all good Asian boys); and shock at experiencing racist abuse from pupils, neighbours and strangers. Imran's response is a determined quest to become the quintessential English gentleman: tie perfectly knotted, shirt pristinely ironed, hair neatly combed. Like most boys, he has a parallel obsession with cars and girls: he yearns to emulate his hero, Simon Templar in The Saint, by driving off into the distance in a Jaguar XJS and encountering danger, adventure - and a vivacious young woman (preferably brunette, but any kind considered). Discover "Unimagined" for yourself. Amusing, touching and uplifting, it has all the ingredients to become next year's surprise bestseller.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109584 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
"* 'Very funny' - John Pienaar, BBC * 'Had me laughing out loud' - Scott Pack, Waterstone's"

Andrew Collins, bestselling author of Where Did It All Go Right?
`Charming, informative and honest ... I enjoyed the book very
much'

Sue Cook
`Beguiling and insightful'

Customer Reviews

His tea went cold!
There is a lot of hype around this book - on the book cover, the book's website, and other websites and blogs referred to.

Sue Cook says it's "Beguiling and insightful". John Pienaar says it's "Very funny" and better than "one hundred Downing Street seminars" in furthering understanding. Sue Townsend chose it as her "Book of the Year" in The Guardian. Andrew Collins read it "in two days". A bookshop owner called Clive Keeble said it is a "defining moment" in the book trade. Scott Pack (of Waterstone's) liked it so much, his tea went cold.

Many books gets hyped and yet prove to be excruciatingly dull or even unreadable.

I have become cynical and I approached this book with heightened cynicism.

But it was all true. Seldom have I enjoyed a book so much. I read it in one-and-a half days. And I didn't want it to end.

Unimaginably Good
This book was recommended by a friend. She had seen the author on `The Heaven and Earth Show' and had decided to buy the book.

I did not believe that it could be as good as she said it was. I read it on the train for three working days, morning and evening. I lost track of how many times I laughed out loud and people looked to see what I was reading. Now I believe it. I usually only read on the train, but in this case I had to read it at home too and finished it really quickly. I wanted it to carry on and on.

How can a book be so funny and so serious at the same time? So easy to read and yet so instructional?

They call it a `memoir' or an `autobiography', but it is so much more. A very clever book.

one of the most amazing books I have read
I came across this book by accident, and once I'd started it I couldn't put it down, I read it in virtually one sitting. It is well written and you will be drawn into an unexpected journey that is more than that of an endearing boy growing up in London - it is a journey full of insights, thought provoking, spiritual, funny, poignant. It opened my mind and changed my way of thinking in a very profound way. This really is one of the best books I have ever read