What do You think about Gabriel's Gift (2002)?
A child's view of the world makes ordinary occurances and typical family drama seem new and exciting, and it is clear that Kureishi has drawn upon this technique to drive his story of a torn family. The parental figures are typical washouts from 1960s-era London whose surprise at finding how mundane and unsuccessful their lives are makes them bitter and self-loathing, but through Gabiel's eyes they are just his parents. He may not fully grasp why they are such children, but he knows that he must
—Jaimie
This is an intriguing, well-paced read (though it could've used about 50 more pages - never thought I'd say that), but I'm not wild about it. Things move too quickly; we see cause or effect but seldom both; everything seems slightly off-kilter. Gabriel reads too young for me, especially if he grew up surrounded by musicians and their groupies. Other characters - and the narrator - kept telling me Gabriel is precocious, but I never saw it.I was also depressed by the narrowness that surrounded "dreaming big." For Kureishi, you aren't "dreaming big" until you're dreaming of being a famous (not even necessarily good) film director, or a famous musician, or a teacher of famous musicians, or the owner of a restaurant catering to famous musicians and movie stars - the usual starf*cker crap. Kureishi wants to espouse chasing ambitions beyond the ordinary, but he defines worthy ambitions so narrowly for his characters that they end up seeming more trapped than the "losers" they leave behind. If this were a conscious authorial decision, I would think it was great, but it comes off the page as honestly the way the author feels: either you're a big pop or film star, or you're nobody at all. By that definition, he wouldn't even consider himself to be "someone."
—Eli
An excellent book to read if you are down on confidence,its full of positive energy and hope.More or less life a fairy tale where good things happen to good people,yet Kureishi has brought in themes of racism,immigrants,homosexuals and such into the story,which is pretty good.Its full of wonderful passages,one i personally liked:-"Talent might be a gift but it still has to be cultivated.The imagination is like a fire or furnace:it has to be stoked, fed and attended to.One thing sets another ablaze.Keep it going."
—Augustine George
