What the heck did I just read? And for class and seeing it on stage nevertheless?

"The Buddha of Suburbia" is a fascinating take on growing up a young man, half English, half Indian, in suburban London and trying to find one's place in the world. It also allows readers an interesting glance into Britain's past: racism, class, politics, theatre business, fame, music, sex, it's all covered. Bisexual Karim doesn't know what to do with his life, his father has left his mother to be with a white woman and invents himself as a Buddhist guru. Karim's sexual exploits leave him unhappy, but things start to change when he becomes an actor...

So yes, there's parts I enjoyed about this book. It rightfully depicts Englishmen of Indian descent as complex and also in parts problematic. They are neither made pure hero or villain. Karim himself is pretty unlikeable and the book does not shy away from tackling the complex situation in 60s/70s London especially in connection to racism, but also for me personally, fails to be truly realist. The read feels like realism but everything is so over the top and discussed in such a crass way, especially sex, that I couldn't enjoy it. I'm not being a prude and I don't mind explicit sex in books but I was oftentimes just disgusted. I liked how the book explored racism, queerness, even feminism to a certain extent, but I can't say I enjoyed reading the book per se. I can also see how eye opening and honest and influential it was when it came out and how it made many people feel seen in ways that I will never understand as a white woman, but reading the book felt voyeuristic and made me uncomfortable. Karim has no filter and everything in this book was just too much over the top for me.

3 stars and let's see what my class is going to see (geeeeeez, send help)