Unimagined: A Muslim Boy Meets the West

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. Unimagined is the endearing story of a Middle England everyman who just happens to be Muslim.