Unimagined

Book excerpt: Part "White Teeth", part "Adrian Mole", "Unimagined" is the captivatingemoir of a Muslim boy born in Pakistan, who moves to London aged one androws up torn between his Islamic identity and his desire to embrace the West.he endearing narrator recalls his childhood in a series of vivid snapshots:utrage as deserved victory is snatched away from him in the Karachi Bonnieaby contest; bitterness as he is tricked out of his collection of Tarzanubble-gum cards by junior con artists; the heady taste of success in theetropolitan Police schools quiz; joy at passing the entrance exam to theocal grammar school; uncertainty as he seeks to become a doctor (like allood Asian boys); and shock at experiencing racist abuse from pupils,eighbours and strangers. Imran's response is a determined quest to becomehe quintessential English gentleman: tie perfectly knotted, shirt pristinelyroned, hair neatly combed.;Like most boys, he has a parallel obsession withars and girls: he yearns to emulate his hero, Simon Templar in The Saint, byriving off into the distance in a Jaguar XJS and encountering danger,