A review of Hanif Kureishi’s Gabriel’s Gift

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Hanif Kureishi is an original voice, and that is why I gave this novel 4 stars. I started to read this book not knowing anything about the author or what the story would be about the blurb was very formulaic. I chose it mainly because it was short, and it took me only three days to finish it. I am now going to ramble a bit, collecting my thoughts on the book. Reading along, i wondered where the book was meant to be going.

Gabriel, the eponymous main character is a London teenager, an only child whose parents, washed up 70s hipsters, have just separated.

In the second chap I started to read this book not knowing anything about the author or what the story would be about the blurb was very formulaic. In the second chapter, Gabriel meets an uber pop star that his father used to tour with back in the days.

It was fairly obvious that this musician is supposed to be David Bowie.

Gabriel's Gift?
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Lady Chatterleys Lover (Vintage Classics Promo 116);
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Tancredi, Overture (Piano)!

At around the same time I was reading this book I noticed that David Bowie has a new album out; there has been advertising for it flashing up on my Amazon page. I thought, well, I am probably going to buy it, most likely as soon as it goes on sale. I also wondered how he might be these days, "he is getting old, isn't he", I thought. The first time I came across David Bowie was in his guise as Jareth, the goblin king. That was in the late 80s, and I was maybe ten when I saw it for the first time, on videotape at a friend's house.

Nevertheless, with that film, David Bowie would forever define "sexy villain" for me.

GABRIEL'S GIFT

In the 90s, I listened to a lot of his music, both old and recent. And I always liked him as as an actor. Let me just drop the key word "The Hunger" - one of the best vampire films ever. Doing some research, I found out that both Bowie and Kureishi went to the same school in south London possibly not at the same time though, as Kureishi is 8 years younger.

I finished the book on Sunday. Monday morning, before I left the house, I heard it on the news that David Bowie was dead. Sometimes coincidences can be so eery. I have to admit that I cried quite a bit that day. I don't remember a time when the death of someone I have never met made me feel such a personal loss. But back to the book. So not worth reading. The David Bowie character is a mere ploy who remains unimportant for the remainder of the story. More importantly, what exactly is Gabriel's gift?

There is one scene in which he draws a pair of shoes and in a flicker of magical realism makes them thereby appear. This, however, remains unexplained, understated and stays unmentioned for the rest of the book. Gabriel has conversations with his dead twin, who died as a little boy. This, too, stays underdeveloped and stale, it remains a faded idea of the invisible friend type that some kids have. In the end, it's a generic story about a kid whose parents split up, a story that has very little to say and that ends with a forseeable happy ending.

Seriously, what was Kureishi thinking when he wrote this? This was my first book by this author, and now I wonder whether I can take him seriously as a writer. Are any of his books worth reading?

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To me, this book seemed like such a waste of time. Feb 16, Beritan rated it it was ok. I found Gabriel's Gift to be an interesting story. Gabriel is a 15 year old boy who is left at home with his mum when his parents spilt up. As Gabriel gets to grips with his new life he turns to the support of his dead twin brother who speaks to him and guides him through a number of situations.

Gabriel's father turns to drink while his mum goes slightly wilder, starts working in a bar and inviting all sorts of men back to the house. It isn't until a chance meeting with an old rock star that lif I found Gabriel's Gift to be an interesting story. It isn't until a chance meeting with an old rock star that life begins to make sense again for Gabriel's family and helps Gabriel to unlock his gift. This is a really interesting novel which takes a snapshot of family life and explores what happens when things break down.

I think my only problem with this was I felt that Gabriel's didn't seem to be 15 I found it hard to imagine him as that age, to me he seemed younger, however maybe this was the point as by the end of the novel Gabriel has grown up and is following his dreams. I really enjoyed this story, Kureishi is a great writer who can definitely construct an excellent story.

I enjoyed this different little tale. Mar 17, Tracy Lynch rated it really liked it. Hanif kureishi is one of my favourite authors.

This is my second reading of this book and personal experience since my last reading enhanced my enjoyment of it. Family life, dysfunctional as it usually is, is told through the eyes of fifteen year old Gabriel. Humorous but not hilarious and realisic characters. Apr 17, Alex rated it it was ok Shelves: The writing is fine, the plot vapid, and the main character unconvincing he's supposed to be fifteen, but thirteen would be more like it. The device of the ghost of the deceased twin is downright silly. The female in the tale, the mother, doesn't jell.

All in all, read Hornby's About a Boy: Oct 17, zespri rated it really liked it.

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They are also pretty well built and feel natural. In the next few days his mother would have her forged copy of Lester's picture framed and presented to Speedy, who would have been presented with two forged copies of the same picture by two members of the same family. His father is a washed up guitar player who once played with one of the greats in the s Lester Jones until he broke his ankle by falling off his platform shoes! It doesn't go anywhere, no it does, in circles, over and over again. He may not fully grasp why they are such children, but he knows that he must not be like them at all costs. In order to prevent yet another argument between his mum and dad, Gabriel secretly makes two copies of the drawing—in doing so he has to forge Lester Jones's signature twice— and hands one copy to each of his parents while keeping the original for himself.

So much to like about this book for me. References to '70's music and pop culture Quirky adolescent boy narrator who has a massive imagination Very funny dialogue that had me smiling as I read And a happy ever after ending What more could you want?? Mar 11, Love rated it really liked it Shelves: Bei der ersten Einstellung ist Schluss. Mich nervt, vor allem, die Lustlosigkeit mit der Kureishi das letzte Drittel bestreitet und dabei jeden weiteren Aufwand bei der Weiterentwicklung seines Helden vermeidet.

Der einzige gelungene Moment in dieser Hinsicht, sind die gescheiterten Versuche von Gabriels Papa, sich in der einstigen Stammkneipe zu erholen. Jun 23, George rated it liked it Shelves: A good, light, entertaining read about 15 year old Gabriel and how he copes with his parents unstable relationship. Gabriel is still at school.

His interests include taking photos and painting pictures.

"RACIST? OR FUNNY? Gift Basket Prank" - Gabriel Iglesias (uncensored)

He is also writing and making a film with the help of his friend Zak. Gabriel's father Rex was a bass player for the 'famous' singer, Lester Jones back in the s.

Unfortunately Rex is currently unemployed, drinks to excess and is generally doing very little to improve his lot in lif 3. Unfortunately Rex is currently unemployed, drinks to excess and is generally doing very little to improve his lot in life. Gabriel's mother gets fed up with Rex and makes Rex leave their rented apartment. Gabriel does some mediating between his parents. A smoothly written, easy to read, enjoyable story. Aug 28, Jorge rated it it was ok. I think the ending comes too soon and the story could be more entertaining had it been a bit longer.

Apart from that, some characters are not very much developed e. The story is funny, though. I enjoyed this, but not as much as his other books.

Jul 21, Lynn Lock rated it really liked it. Hamid Koreshi is the author of my favourite book ever Intimacy and I love his gritty style of writing. Jul 13, Debbie Walker rated it liked it. This is lovely read, a story of a 15 year old boy whose parents have separated and his determination to bring them back together. Aug 09, Catherine rated it really liked it. Made me laugh out loud a few times. Gabriel's prison sentence, already long enough, would surely be increased. At Speedy's hamburger joint, a chance meeting with film producer Jake Ambler also fictitious sets off Rex's teaching career.

Looking for someone to give his spoiled teenage son private guitar lessons, Jake offers the job to Rex who, encouraged by Gabriel to do something useful and earn some money at the same time, reluctantly agrees "We're not so desperate that we're going to start working for a living" and eventually, after word of mouth has spread and he is teaching not just one but several kids, quite enjoys being seen as an authority on music by his pupils. Before the truth about Lester Jones's drawing is found out, Gabriel strikes a deal with Speedy, regains possession of the picture in exchange for a painting of Speedy he has to paint himself, and destroys the two copies.

Mood swings

Seeing her ex-partner's reformation, Christine reconsiders her decision to spend the rest of her life without him and does not mind the end of her affair with George, a young artist and a regular at the bar where she is waitressing. At the end of the novel Rex and Christine get married, and in the following summer, under Jake Ambler's supervision, Gabriel starts shooting his first film. As opposed to other protagonists created by Kureishi, Rex, Christine and Gabriel are white.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Digested Read, Digested " ". Retrieved February 9, You're the ballast in our balloon, mate. Postboxes, of course, aren't black, and a string of such miscued images confirms one's suspicions that, at times, Kureishi is an infuriatingly slapdash writer. His dialogue is particularly cloth-eared. Asserting his heterosexuality, Rex asks: Like a student on Pro Plus, Kureishi relies on pure energy to get him through the tricky bits.

His plot careers cheerily forward, as Rex is reunited with Lester Jones, a David Bowie figure who "contained the essential ingredients of both tenderness and violence, and was neither boy nor girl, changing himself continuously as he expressed and lost himself in various disguises". Jones recognises in Gabriel a fellow traveller, and bestows on him the present of an original artwork, instantaneously seized upon by both parents as their ticket out of poverty and obscurity.

But for Gabriel it is a precious and inalienable gift, recognition of his talent and a symbolic slice of portable empathy. Its security becomes more desirable than his parents' reconciliation, and in that moment of gifted detachment lies his salvation. Accordingly, Gabriel is forced into action and out of the comforting enclosure of his bedroom.

Who would put it back before it tipped into eternity?

Gabriels Gift

GABRIEL'S GIFT

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Mood swings