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The Perfect Gentleman: A Muslim Boy Meets the West
by
Imran Ahmad
Both deliciously funny and deeply insightful, THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN is a beguiling multi-layered memoir that has touched the hearts of readers all over the world. At the age of one, Imran Ahmad moved from Pakistan to London, growing up torn between his Islamic identity and his desire to embrace the West. Join Imran in his lifelong struggle against corruption and injustice,...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
April 3rd 2012
by Center Street
(first published September 12th 2006)
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Jan 25, 2010
Δx Δp ≥ ½ ħ htgkvkkviholmvobsvzighxofyyzmw
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Pas liat poster launching buku ini, ada satu pertanyaan yang mengganjal, Memangnya kenapa kalau seorang muslim datang dan tinggal di negrinya James Bond (yang notabenenya nonmuslim)? Toh, James Bond pun kalau datang ke negeri muslim dia tidak risau. apalagi ini seorang bocah!
Karena penasaran apa sebenarnya isi buku ini dan ingin mendapatkan tanda tangan Pidi Baiq (dia datang sbg bintang tamu --memberi kata pengantar buku ini-- dan sukses bikin peserta launching terpingkal-pingkal) buat buku Drun...more
Karena penasaran apa sebenarnya isi buku ini dan ingin mendapatkan tanda tangan Pidi Baiq (dia datang sbg bintang tamu --memberi kata pengantar buku ini-- dan sukses bikin peserta launching terpingkal-pingkal) buat buku Drun...more
It's just another "what I learned from this book".
Kami pindah ke Pondok Bambu saat saya baru memulai sekolah dasar. Sahabat pertama saya, yaitu teman yang akhirnya menemani perjalanan sepanjang enam tahun pulang pergi dari rumah ke sekolah adalah Joice, seorang gadis Batak. Menjelang Natal, dia akan meletakkan rumput di dalam sepatunya yang diletakkan di luar rumah. "Taruh rumput di sepatu, besok ada hadiahnya. Itu hadiah Natal, dikasih Sinterklas," katanya.
Hmm... asik banget. Selama enam tahun...more
Kami pindah ke Pondok Bambu saat saya baru memulai sekolah dasar. Sahabat pertama saya, yaitu teman yang akhirnya menemani perjalanan sepanjang enam tahun pulang pergi dari rumah ke sekolah adalah Joice, seorang gadis Batak. Menjelang Natal, dia akan meletakkan rumput di dalam sepatunya yang diletakkan di luar rumah. "Taruh rumput di sepatu, besok ada hadiahnya. Itu hadiah Natal, dikasih Sinterklas," katanya.
Hmm... asik banget. Selama enam tahun...more
15 likes · like · see review
Lucu sih tapi agak sedikit menyedihkan.
Menyedihkan karena dia terombang-ambing karena pergulatan jiwanya untuk menemukan agama yang SEJATI. Sayangnya dia hanya mengeluh dan puas atas pengetahuannya tentang tiap agama yang sedikit. Sehingga rasanya percuma saja dan ingin sekali teriak di kupingnya "PERDALAM DONK AGAMA YANG LO MAU". Bahkan sering dia mendiskreditkan agama Hindu dan Budha.
Dia mengeluhkan atas Rasisme yang terjadi kepada imigran, tapi padahal dia juga seorang rasis. Menjelekkan oor...more
Menyedihkan karena dia terombang-ambing karena pergulatan jiwanya untuk menemukan agama yang SEJATI. Sayangnya dia hanya mengeluh dan puas atas pengetahuannya tentang tiap agama yang sedikit. Sehingga rasanya percuma saja dan ingin sekali teriak di kupingnya "PERDALAM DONK AGAMA YANG LO MAU". Bahkan sering dia mendiskreditkan agama Hindu dan Budha.
Dia mengeluhkan atas Rasisme yang terjadi kepada imigran, tapi padahal dia juga seorang rasis. Menjelekkan oor...more
9 likes · like · see review
This book is written out like an autobiography of the author whose family migrated from Pakistan to England shortly after partition when he was still a small child. Its chapters are indexed by the year he is writing about and his age at the time, with rarely more than 6 pages devoted to each year. This makes the book a quick read.
The book lists the author's observations of and reflections on the world around him. The style is candid and the author's personal sense of humour shines through as he...more
The book lists the author's observations of and reflections on the world around him. The style is candid and the author's personal sense of humour shines through as he...more
Finished this in a day..... Absolutely refreshing!
Imran writes candidly about his life as a Pakistani boy in London. From a room in a bedsit, to his parents own home, his entrance into a prestigious grammer school and his university days in Scotland.
But thru his ups and downs he is plagued by religious questions and his discussions with various Christian evangelists fuel his doubts about Islam being the true path. Life is a journey as Imran discovers....
Hope this brilliant writer produces more...more
Imran writes candidly about his life as a Pakistani boy in London. From a room in a bedsit, to his parents own home, his entrance into a prestigious grammer school and his university days in Scotland.
But thru his ups and downs he is plagued by religious questions and his discussions with various Christian evangelists fuel his doubts about Islam being the true path. Life is a journey as Imran discovers....
Hope this brilliant writer produces more...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. It's written in a very readable and deciptively simple style. In his own quiet, subtle way Imran Ahmad has addressed some big themes. The writing though is engaging, and honest, remarkably so, and Imran emerges as a decent young man, with all the bad habits, concerns and confusions of the young. Many of his trial and tribulations along the way are hilarious, and touching, and any of us who have had an unrequited love, or tried to bargin with God, will be able to...more
Se há uns meses me falassem de Imran Ahmad eu iria com certeza responder: “Quem é esse?”. Se me dissessem que o livro auto-biográfico “O Perfeito Cavalheiro” é uma obra notável, muitíssimo bem escrito e que demonstra não só um humor fabuloso como, principalmente, o quanto a religião e a cultura pode influenciar a nossa identidade e a forma como a nossa perspectiva do mundo pode ser tão díspar, eu diria: “hum… ver para crer”. Mas o certo é que esse alguém me estaria a acenar com uma obra espanto...more
I was excited to read this coming-of-age memoir when several copies of it were inexplicably shipped to the nonprofit where I work. In a blurb on the front cover, the author of a highly regarded book referred to it as "laugh out loud." I was in the mood for a funny book. Instead, it was mostly dull, sometimes informative, and only occasionally mildly amusing.
The author writes a chapter for every year of his life until age 25, recounting what it was like to grow up in London as a Pakistani immigr...more
The author writes a chapter for every year of his life until age 25, recounting what it was like to grow up in London as a Pakistani immigr...more
I received this from the Goodreads giveaway.
This book was highly entertaining and a good look into a person's life who comes from a completely different culture than my own. It was pretty amazing what a page-turner it was.
I don't want to give away too much for those that will read it, but I was pretty disappointed with the end.It went from a almost year-by-year description to skipping a bunch of years (years I am guessing were painful and uncomfortable to make public - but I have no way of knowi...more
This book was highly entertaining and a good look into a person's life who comes from a completely different culture than my own. It was pretty amazing what a page-turner it was.
I don't want to give away too much for those that will read it, but I was pretty disappointed with the end.It went from a almost year-by-year description to skipping a bunch of years (years I am guessing were painful and uncomfortable to make public - but I have no way of knowi...more
Hmm entahlah saya harus bilang apa untuk buku ini, lucunya menurut saya sedikit tapi lebih banyak seriusnya bila dibandingkan buku Pidi Baiq. Buku ini sebenarnya membicarakan masalah penting yang tidak diungkap banyak orang di Inggris, yaitu soal rasisme Pakistan Muslim. Beberapa kali dia menerima ejekan dari orang lain karena ia warga negara Pakistan.
Kesan saya bertemu penulisnya:
Saat saya bertemu dengan penulisnya langsung di MP Book Point, saya mendapati Imran memang sosok yang sangat serius....more
Kesan saya bertemu penulisnya:
Saat saya bertemu dengan penulisnya langsung di MP Book Point, saya mendapati Imran memang sosok yang sangat serius....more
The first part of tackling this book is to read through (well, I don’t know if you do but I do) pages and pages of positive book reviews on the book in hand. Writers and reviewers rave and crave around this book – sometimes this sets up the book for failure (in my own humble opinion) due to too much mega-gushing in advance. So often it paints a scenario of so much to live up to. Not so this time though. This book is a winner and a keeper of the attention span, that’s for sure.
Within its pages, A...more
Within its pages, A...more
The Perfect Gentleman is a fantastic autobiographical story of how a young boy moved from Pakistan and grew up in Britain. It also explores the discrepancies in his faith that Imran saw when he tried to comes to terms with his own very honest and decent views of his religion and the hypocrisy diplayed when religion is put into practice by others.
This brief over view of the book makes it sound heavy going and a difficult read but this is far from the case, it is one of the few books I have actua...more
This brief over view of the book makes it sound heavy going and a difficult read but this is far from the case, it is one of the few books I have actua...more
I met Imran in Malaysia last year in relation to his “day job”. We chatted about his book and our shared experiences and I subsequently bought a copy which was swiftly devoured in one sitting.
The comparisons with Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole are understandable and if the reader is not that interested in exploring subtexts, it should be read much as this. However, Imran’s observations, although whimsically documented, have a darker side to Mole’s. For the various South Asian communities that came t...more
The comparisons with Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole are understandable and if the reader is not that interested in exploring subtexts, it should be read much as this. However, Imran’s observations, although whimsically documented, have a darker side to Mole’s. For the various South Asian communities that came t...more
Imran Ahmad is a man who has a truth-seeking heart and mind. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his reflections of his childhood and early adulthood, particularly his cross-cultural and interfaith encounters. (They helped me to some extent understand my own cultural and spiritual journeys). Because these 'serious' subjects were interwoven with a wry, ironic humour, I found I was very receptive to the deeper meanings they conveyed.
Unlike some other reviewers, I personally didn't find his discussions ar...more
I enjoyed this book from the point when Imran went to university, before the only thing of interest was his education about different religious beliefs.
I wouldn't say this is a 'hilarious' book as the back cover suggests, rather a wry look at someone trying to fit into a culture and make sense of his beliefs.
Interestingly the author made no mention of the religious discussions in the book when I heard him give an author talk. This is quite a substantial part of the book.
There's no mention of a...more
I wouldn't say this is a 'hilarious' book as the back cover suggests, rather a wry look at someone trying to fit into a culture and make sense of his beliefs.
Interestingly the author made no mention of the religious discussions in the book when I heard him give an author talk. This is quite a substantial part of the book.
There's no mention of a...more
Imran Ahmad is a man who has a truth-seeking heart and mind. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his reflections of his childhood and early adulthood, particularly his cross-cultural and interfaith encounters. (They helped me to some extent understand my own cultural and spiritual journeys). Because these 'serious' subjects were interwoven with a wry, ironic humour, I found I was very receptive to the deeper meanings they conveyed.
Unlike some other reviewers, I personally didn't find his discussions ar...more
Unlike some other reviewers, I personally didn't find his discussions ar...more
This is a memoir of a boy who doesn't fit in, so he tries to define himself by being all things GOOD and BRITISH. The style is humorous and self-depricating. The author is honest in his faults and young innocence. My two teens picked up this book because the cover photo is so amusing, but the both finished reading it because Imran writes exactly how he was as a child and teen- no excuses or adult reflection. As he matures, his introspection deepens, but is never boring. The racism and class issu...more
Poignant and thought provoking a roller-coaster ride of emotional consciousness.
This memoir had me laughing from the first chapter. Imran really pours his heart out in this book and it is easy to tell he is completely sincere. In The Perfect Gentleman Imran shares a little bit about each year of his life, from his birth up until his late teens, skipping through later adulthood at faster pace. It easy for the reader to immerse themselves into this story and follow Imran along as he attends school...more
This memoir had me laughing from the first chapter. Imran really pours his heart out in this book and it is easy to tell he is completely sincere. In The Perfect Gentleman Imran shares a little bit about each year of his life, from his birth up until his late teens, skipping through later adulthood at faster pace. It easy for the reader to immerse themselves into this story and follow Imran along as he attends school...more
Unimagined is a fantastic autobiographical story of how a young boy moved from Pakistan and grew up in Britain. It also explores the discrepancies in his faith that Imran saw when he tried to comes to terms with his own very honest and decent views of his religion and the hypocrisy diplayed when religion is put into practice by others.
This brief over view of the book makes it sound heavy going and a difficult read but this is far from the case. The story covers so much, from his young school li...more
This brief over view of the book makes it sound heavy going and a difficult read but this is far from the case. The story covers so much, from his young school li...more
I met the author a few weeks ago when he gave a talk about the book in Dallas. He is very funny and the passages he read were hilarious. This book is NOT ABOUT A TERRORIST. Far from it. It dispells the myths and propaganda. It is about a Muslim growing up in London and being comfortable in both worlds. It is about reaching out and understanding that we all have the same desires and dreams in life, no matter who we are.
I love books that help me understand other cultures, especially when they are as entertaining as this book is. This is a very interesting memoir with a fascinatingly different structure that I found quite engaging - one chapter per year of his life. His voice at each age rings so true and honest - he is painfully honest about his own flaws, for example - that it is almost as though he recorded his thoughts as he grew up, and had only to write them up to create this wonderful book. Of course, I'm...more
Saya merasa kecewa saat membacanya. Why?
Awalnya, saya tertarik untuk membaca buku ini karena judulnya.. Bocah Muslim di Negeri James Bond. Saya pikir buku ini akan menyuguhkan banyak cerita tentang si Bocah Muslim, penulisnya sendiri, yang bersosialisasi dengan budaya barat ketika usianya masih anak-anak. Tapi, setelah membaca beberapa halaman, belum sampai setengah halaman buku, saya mulai kehilangan ketertarikan untuk terus melanjutkan baca. Ternyata ceritanya dimulai dari ketika si bocah beru...more
Awalnya, saya tertarik untuk membaca buku ini karena judulnya.. Bocah Muslim di Negeri James Bond. Saya pikir buku ini akan menyuguhkan banyak cerita tentang si Bocah Muslim, penulisnya sendiri, yang bersosialisasi dengan budaya barat ketika usianya masih anak-anak. Tapi, setelah membaca beberapa halaman, belum sampai setengah halaman buku, saya mulai kehilangan ketertarikan untuk terus melanjutkan baca. Ternyata ceritanya dimulai dari ketika si bocah beru...more
I liked the organization of the memoir, titled by theme, and then the age & dates at the bottom of each page as a quick reference.
Some remarks --->
1. The young boy interprets the aggressive racist behavior as inevitable even though it greaty angers him personally. It's true that kids can be bullied and harrassed at school, regardless of their background, and part of growing up is learning to deal with it. The young Imran though witnesses his own mother at the edge of a nervous breakdown b...more
Some remarks --->
1. The young boy interprets the aggressive racist behavior as inevitable even though it greaty angers him personally. It's true that kids can be bullied and harrassed at school, regardless of their background, and part of growing up is learning to deal with it. The young Imran though witnesses his own mother at the edge of a nervous breakdown b...more
Year by year snippets of life, sometimes very funny. This is really two books spliced together. Four stars for the first part, about growing up as "the other." Three stars for the second part, about examining one's faith.
Imran's childhood stories about being Pakistani in 1960s & 1970s London were pitched just right. I really felt his confusion, felt his struggle to rise above all the micro-aggressions, and the more open racism. I really felt his dread of having to explain, year after year, t...more
Imran's childhood stories about being Pakistani in 1960s & 1970s London were pitched just right. I really felt his confusion, felt his struggle to rise above all the micro-aggressions, and the more open racism. I really felt his dread of having to explain, year after year, t...more
The picture of the little boy- serious, uncomfortable, and cute- on the cover, drew me in to this book and was a visual equivalent of the first part of the book itself. The first chapters, of the author's childhood years, were indeed funny. He gives a glimpse into an ethnic experience I had not encountered before.
The book is about the life of a Muslim boy in England, one chapter per year.
The last part of the book ruined it completely. The twin themes of the author's search for the truth of God,...more
The book is about the life of a Muslim boy in England, one chapter per year.
The last part of the book ruined it completely. The twin themes of the author's search for the truth of God,...more
I loved this book. I accidentally left the library's copy of the book at school and was so devastated that I paid $12 to download it onto my Nook so I could finish. This coming from someone who hasn't paid for a book in 2+ years.
The book is funny, honest, and discusses topics like racism and religion in ways that encourage the participation and critical thinking of the reader. For my ESL students, the beginning chapters are short enough to be manageable in one sitting. The book will also appeal...more
The book is funny, honest, and discusses topics like racism and religion in ways that encourage the participation and critical thinking of the reader. For my ESL students, the beginning chapters are short enough to be manageable in one sitting. The book will also appeal...more
On one level this is an endearing coming of age story told by a person who is a Pakistani Muslim living in Great Britain. On another level it is an apologetic for moderate Islam which ends up evolving into a warm and fuzzy universalism.
It was eye-opening to observe Ahmad's faith journey as he grappled with a religious culture clash. His story is told against the framework of selected key historical events, helping to flesh out his decisions in a known time frame.
Although I enjoyed many aspects...more
It was eye-opening to observe Ahmad's faith journey as he grappled with a religious culture clash. His story is told against the framework of selected key historical events, helping to flesh out his decisions in a known time frame.
Although I enjoyed many aspects...more
A book that starts out entertainingly enough, but gradually reveals a lack of overarching story. All the events in this book are autobiographical and somehow seem to lead up to a sort of climax, which then never follows. Instead, the book has an open ending and the protagonist turns out to be wholly unremarkable. I don't really see the point in writing a book about your life unless it's a story worth telling, but O well. I suppose there are some decent observations regarding intercultural differ...more
Loved, loved, loved this book! I loved his awkward tales of growing up, unrequited loves, and his later success in life. He managed to bumble his way into a really good life. Definitely an Adrian Mole-ish quality to it. I almost downgraded this to four stars at the end. I thought he breezed through his later life too much. I wanted to find out more about what happened to his marriage, but I suppose, as the Perfect Gentleman, he would not reveal too much. But then he won me over with his very ele...more
"Bocah Muslim di Negeri James Bond"...ini judul buku yg di terbitkan di sini.....ceritanya cukup menarik cerita tentang penulisnya sendiri yaitu, Imran Ahmad yang pindah ke Inggris dari Pakistan, tanah kelahirannya, bersama orang tua dan adik-adiknya.....diceritakan bagaimana kehidupan sebagai minoritas yang penuh perjuangan...namun sedikit agak kecewa, karena dari resensi yang aq baca, buku ini lucu atau bikin ketawa...tapi setelah aq baca, aq koq g ketawa sama sekali.....mungkin humor orang ba...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giveaways and Con...: The Perfect Gentleman: A Muslim Boy Meets The West 5-Winner Giveaway | 1 | 2 | Mar 29, 2012 07:23pm | |
| Biography | 1 | 3 | Jan 10, 2012 10:57pm |
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“Seharusnya Islam adalah sebuah agama bagi seluruh dunia, terlepas dari ras, bahasa maupun kebudayaan. Tidak masuk akal bahwa Tuhan mengharapkan semua orang di seluruh dunia untuk belajar membaca tulisan Arab, bukan?”
—
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“Yang disebut sekolah-sekolah Islam di Inggris menyedot habis energi murid-muridnya dengan memaksa mereka membaca dan mengingat-ngingat ayat Al-Qur’an dalam bahasa Arab, yang maknanya tidak dimengerti oleh para murid maupun guru. Jika memang ada diskusi mengenai Islam, sang Imam (yang terkadang bahkan tidak bisa bahasa Inggris) bebas mendefinisikan Islam sesuai kehendaknya, dan siapa yang bisa membantah?”
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Jan 27, 2010 05:45pm
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