Imprint: Penguin
Published: 30/04/2009
ISBN: 9780141028590
Length: 336 Pages
Dimensions: 198mm x 20mm x 129mm
Weight: 234g
RRP: £9.99
'Could not be more enjoyable, engaging or moving' Observer
"It's 1979, I'm three years old, and like all breakfast times during my youth it begins with Mum combing my hair, a ritual for which I have to sit down on the second-hand, floral-patterned settee, and lean forward, like I'm presenting myself for execution."
For Sathnam Sanghera, growing up in Wolverhampton in the eighties was a confusing business. On the one hand, these were the heady days of George Michael mix-tapes, Dallas on TV and, if he was lucky, the occasional Bounty Bar. On the other, there was his wardrobe of tartan smocks, his 30p-an-hour job at the local sewing factory and the ongoing challenge of how to tie the perfect top-knot.
And then there was his family, whose strange and often difficult behaviour he took for granted until, at the age of twenty-four, Sathnam made a discovery that changed everything he ever thought he knew about them. Equipped with breathtaking courage and a glorious sense of humour, he embarks on a journey into their extraordinary past - from his father's harsh life in rural Punjab to the steps of the Wolverhampton Tourist Office - trying to make sense of a life lived among secrets.
'I absolutely loved it. Heartbreaking and wonderful. He writes beautifully' Maggie O'Farrell
'Tragic, funny and disturbing. It will challenge you, and may even change you' Carole Angier, Independent
Published in hardback as If You Don't Know Me by Now
Imprint: Penguin
Published: 30/04/2009
ISBN: 9780141028590
Length: 336 Pages
Dimensions: 198mm x 20mm x 129mm
Weight: 234g
RRP: £9.99
I absolutely loved it. Heartbreaking and wonderful. He writes beautifully
Could not be more enjoyable, engaging or moving
About real secrets, in a real quest for understanding. It's tragic, funny and disturbing. It will challenge you, and may even change you
Hilarious, engaging, tragicomic
'Gripping and entertaining, horrifying and tender ... Exposes all those things we take for granted as we grow up
Fans of Nick Hornby and Jonathan Coe will love this book
Gripping, tender ... recalls A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Told with enormous compassion and dry wit. The climax had me on the edge of my seat
Funny, heartfelt
Hugely enjoyable