Customer Reviews
You must read this book - By: Mr. Richard Hall Hallogram Ltd, 10 Jul 2008 
This is sheer poetry. He writes in the Times on economics & business but I am now going to read him more carefully because he reallly knows what matters. About love, pain, confrontation, embarassment, illness, compassion. This is a brilliantly open & unblinking book. Read it and, just maybe, become a better human being.
A lone voice - By: Queen of Interiors, 03 Jul 2008 
I found this one of the hardest books to finish that i have EVER read. The author has used two important & compelling issues to basicallly write a book about himself growing up in Wolverhampton - why would ANYONE find this interesting! Its Zadie Smith & White Teeth alll over again.
I must admit it did enlighten me to certain issues re schizophrenia which i had not considered but this was contained within pages of boring dross about Sathnam, Sathnam & more Sathnam, Wolverhampton, George Michael & the Man on the Horse!! Who cares! And by the time i had reached the 'climax' of the book i was too bored to even finish reading the letter to his mum which was actuallly a reallly important point of the story.
Understandably many Sikh readers growing up in Britain will identify with the author, as will many Sikhs growing up in Britain in Wolverhampton! Sanghera obviously had a story to tell but i think he indulged himself with this one. Big time.
And I am surprised that someone whose writing i admire, Andrea Ashworth, wrote such a complimentary review. Am i missing something here? Obviously. And not just a lone voice - my partner felt the same!
Great read. - By: Dally, 09 Jun 2008 
So I wasn't the only one who couldn't put the book down after I'd started. The book brought back so many memories from my childhood that I didn't actuallly find it sad but heart warming & nostalgic. I have to take my hat off to you Sathnam, the way you exposed your own family "closet skeletons" is awe inspiring. You had the courage to do the thing many Sikhs/Panjabis dread the most.
Sabaash!
Enlightened - By: Rebecca Sanderson, 05 Jun 2008 Having been out with a guy from the same culture as Sathnam & being white I have suffered at the hands of an over bearing family that instantly disliked me & judged me as not good enough without even knowing me. I always thought that my boyfriend was weak as he didn't stand up to them & took it personallly that he didn't want to be me with enough to make the commitment to force his family to accept us despite his protests that this simply wasn't the case & that I didn't understand asian family & community cultures/expectations, I always thought this was an excuse though! But having read Sathnam's memoir I've seen alll this in a different light as so much of what I read resonated hugely with our situation, not only is this book one of the best written books I have ever read but it had me chuckling outloud & completely sympathising with him. This book reallly IS heart warming, light heartedly serious & we found it inspiring. I can't thank Sathnam enough.
Very brave, very honest, very moving - By: Mr. Harpreet S. Khalsa, 02 Jun 2008 My sister recommended this book having said it was the best thing she had read alll year. Not being a fan of memoirs, I thought it might be another soppy sad story but actuallly it is witty, dry, laugh-out-loud funny & sad- but told without any self-pity.
It's very brave & written with an incredible honesty. Written in an accessible style, Sanghera deals with some very big subjects: love, mental illness, family duty, relationships, being Asian & Sikh in England. It also deals with issues of class, the London-centric media world & life in the Midlands. In fact it works- as another reviewer has mentioned- on so many levels that everyone is bound to walk away with something different. In short, it is a fantastic memoir & I would recommend it to anyone.
Oh, it's probably best to keep an evening free before you start reading as it's un-put-downable!
