Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
49th out of 61 books
—
1 voter
Coconut Unlimited
Shortlisted for the 2010 COSTA first novel award.
Paperback, 200 pages
Published
October 1st 2010
by Quartet Books (UK)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
145)
Nikesh Shukla’s first novel is the story of Amit; he and his friends Anand and Nishant are the only Asian boys at their private school in early 1990s Harrow. They find themselves struggling to be accepted anywhere: their ethnicity marks them out as different at school, and their schooling marks them out as different amongst the other Asian kids in town. The boys find refuge in a shared love of rap, and decide to start their own hip-hop band, which they name Coconut Unlimited (after Amit’s sister...more
I am a married, white female, more into Indie rather than Hip Hop in my youth, so according to the law of averages/preconceptions, I shouldn’t have enjoyed Coconut Unlimited at all but, contrary as ever, it ended up as one of my favourite reads in November. This is one of the joys of receiving a wide variety of novels to review – many thanks to Quartet Books for sending this gem my way.
Our narrator, Amit, is a bit of a misfit, an Asian youth on whose narrow shoulders are placed the weighty expec...more
Our narrator, Amit, is a bit of a misfit, an Asian youth on whose narrow shoulders are placed the weighty expec...more
This is the (fictional) memoir of Amit as a teenager in Harrow and atteding a private school as one of very few Asians. He and his friends get into hip hop and form a band: Coconut Unlimited. It's a coming of age story full of mishaps and comedy and I liked the feel-good ending. There were moments to cringe sympathetically alongside the perceived coolness and actual "pretty cool"ness of the characters, and sometimes that was a bit too much for me, but overall I enjoyed the read.
An easy read and a good offering for a debut novel. The question of it being fiction could be raised; the feeling of it being more autobiographical than fictional lies heavy throughout the book.
That does no harm to Coconut Unlimited though, as it's heartfelt, personal and full of the worries and humour that hark back to the schooldays of us all. A nice storyline with a nice outcome...readable but not necessarily memorable.
That does no harm to Coconut Unlimited though, as it's heartfelt, personal and full of the worries and humour that hark back to the schooldays of us all. A nice storyline with a nice outcome...readable but not necessarily memorable.
A book that brings back loneliness of being a teenager & not knowing who you're supposed to be. The aching need to both assert your individuality and, at the same time, to belong.
The characters and events just rang so true. And the music references brought back all kinds of memories: the good, the bad and the excruciatingly embarrassing.
The characters and events just rang so true. And the music references brought back all kinds of memories: the good, the bad and the excruciatingly embarrassing.
This book was fine. Not having much access to the subculture it celebrates, I felt a litte anthropological reading it, but that's fine. Perfectly pleasant, even if the amount of action, character development, etc. was perhaps more suited to a long shor story than a 200 page novel.
I wasn't (and still am not) into hip hop, so I found this highly amusing.
I think it's a good debut novel in that it has a well-paced and thought-out plot, interesting characters, and doesn't try too hard.
(I have dealt with Nikesh Shukla in the past in his role at BookTrust and have been intending to read Coconut Unlimited for some time.)
I think it's a good debut novel in that it has a well-paced and thought-out plot, interesting characters, and doesn't try too hard.
(I have dealt with Nikesh Shukla in the past in his role at BookTrust and have been intending to read Coconut Unlimited for some time.)
We could have been contendaz! Surprisingly effective blending of Nick Hornby/coming of age with teenage gangster rappers, with a very moving conclusion.
An easy read - this book focuses on the difficult transition period of teenage life when you are moving from being a child to an adult. This is set against the backdrop of Britain becoming increasingly racially aware and more dominated by US culture. The construction is basic and interesting themes are never really explored.
I liked the ending but I probably wasn't the intended market.
Great memories of growing up in Harrow
Really enjoyed this book, looking forward to the next one already!
A pleasant book, easy to read, didnt tax the brain too much.
A nice story of growing up in Harrow, obsessed by hiphop and standing out as one of the few asian kids in the school.
I think Shukla hit all the right notes on cringeworthy teen behaviour, and styles, and obsessions.
enjoyable.
A nice story of growing up in Harrow, obsessed by hiphop and standing out as one of the few asian kids in the school.
I think Shukla hit all the right notes on cringeworthy teen behaviour, and styles, and obsessions.
enjoyable.
view 2 comments
I have a video review!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&...
Maybe another day.
Mar 10, 2013
Bex
marked it as to-read
Jan 01, 2013
Luke Noel-storr
marked it as to-read
Dec 30, 2012
Kay Morris
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“While 'Rap Trax!' recorded, Neel found some scrap paper and we started writing our first lyrics. Bandying about subject matter and title, we got stuck on the idea of 'cool', so my first rap song became 'Pretty Cool'. It was a symbol of our confidence. We weren't awesome cool or mega cool. We were only... pretty cool.”
—
1 person liked it
“Yo, bredren, we be the illest,' went my proclamation. 'We be the dopest,' Anand would follow. 'Our tunes are going to be good,' Nishant would finish with.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
