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I, Migrant: A comedian's journey from Karachi to the outback

Sami Shah (Goodreads Author)

3.85 · Rating details · 199 ratings · 44 reviews

Despite nearly being killed by a kangaroo and almost lynched and run out of town after his comedy was taken far too seriously, Sami Shah is very happy to be living in Australia. He has fronted his own satirical show on TV in Karachi, worked as a journalist and been a highly regarded newspaper columnist - all dangerous occupations to be involved in - when the combination of ...more

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Kindle Edition, 220 pages

Published September 1st 2014 by Allen & Unwin (first published August 1st 2014)

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Start your review of I, Migrant: A comedian's journey from Karachi to the outback

Feb 17, 2019 K.J. Charles added it · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography

Remarkable. An incredibly readable account of a stand up comedian's early life, forays into advertising, job in news media, etc, except he's living and working in Karachi around the time of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, when suicide bombings became a common occurrence and religious fundamentalism really took off. It's an extraordinary combination, not least because of the sense of people desperately trying to have a normal life or at least persuade themselves that things aren't horrifyingly ou ...more

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Jul 12, 2014 Anna Scott rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: b2014, owned, belongs-to-anna, signed, australian, biography, pp-200-299, pub-2010s

The best thing I can say about this book is that I stayed up until 5AM to finish reading it, despite being ill and needing the rest.

Sami Shah's prose feels fluid and seamless, pulling you through the book at an effortless pace. The book is informative without being dry, political without being preachy, witty without being smug. The tone shifts from funny to sad without ever being jarring.

Here's a few signs you're reading a good book:
- you're grabbed on the very first page.
- you stop to read out ...more

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Aug 01, 2014 Sally906 rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, australian-author, autobiography

Sami certainly has a good sense of humour and that comes through in his story. I first saw him when he appeared on ‘Australian Story’ and really enjoyed his story, so I presumed that I, MIGRANT would expand on his interesting story. Which it does, and it is a fascinating firsthand look at both Australian and Pakistani politics, terrorism and life as a newcomer to Australia. The book covers various parts of his life, his first romance, meeting his wife, attending university in the USA, worked in ...more

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Jul 23, 2014 Misha Ali rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As a fellow Karachiite who migrated to Australia, I loved the authenticity and humor in this book. Sami's account of life in Karachi is interspersed with all the well known tragedies and calamities of the last two decades.

My worry with this book was that there might be too much reused material from his stand up comedy and not enough of a narrative. As much as I enjoyed his stand up work in Karachi and now on YouTube, nobody wants to hear the same jokes multiple times. Rest assured, Sami spends j ...more

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Aug 30, 2014 Katie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Just fantastic. I learned so much about the experience of living in Pakistan as a "regular' person, as compared to the fifteen second snippets that turn up on the news whenever there's a conflict in the region. And then there are Shah's comments on what it is like living/interacting with the Western world as a Pakistani - something I'd more or less guessed at, but seeing it written from a first person perspective obviously gives it more depth.

But mostly, there's Mr Sami Shah, his family, friends ...more

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Nov 04, 2017 Saima rated it liked it · review of another edition

interesting read, could even be inspirational for a to be stand up comedian. Being a Pakistani "legal immigrant" to Australia, I can relate to a lot of things said. Some bits are hilarious, and some very disturbing facts about the change in Pakistan's basic ideological fabric have been very eloquently narrated.some aspects of life in Karachi are things that us living in other parts of the country only saw in news as if that was another world.
What I loved most was being inside the mind of a come ...more

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Sep 12, 2014 Déwi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

three stars for the first half but by the time he reached Australia I loved him and so four stars! I haven't seen Australian Story - saw this book on the 'new releases' shelf and as I love reading about migrant stories had to buy it. Glad I did! Hope Sami Shah performs in Canberra as I would love to see his show. This is an honest (sometimes too honest - not sure I needed to know about his mastubatory habits) and interesting read. Australia is lucky to have Sami Shah and his family here. ...more

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Oct 14, 2014 Amanda Meggs rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Sami Shah has lived through many trauma inducing situations and can still manage to put a humorous spin on them. This is a biography of his life growing up in Pakistan, moving to America to study and finishing with his move to Australia. It's very interesting, particularly his work life in Pakistan for Dawn News, there are so many frightening situations, he must have nightmares.

Definitely worth reading. ...more

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Jul 03, 2014 Kay Hart rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Sami Shah. I, Immigrant (Allen & Unwin. 2014)

In this memoir Sami Shah ‘tells the hilarious and moving story of what it’s like to leave the home you love to start a new life in another country so your child can be safe and grow up with a limitless future.’
I really loved the Prologue in this book as it describes Sami’s encounter with animals killed on Australia’s roads and more particularly with a large red kangaroo. It truly sets the scene straight away; the level of humour, the undertone of the Sami Shah. I, Immigrant (Allen & Unwin. 2014)

In this memoir Sami Shah ‘tells the hilarious and moving story of what it’s like to leave the home you love to start a new life in another country so your child can be safe and grow up with a limitless future.’
I really loved the Prologue in this book as it describes Sami’s encounter with animals killed on Australia’s roads and more particularly with a large red kangaroo. It truly sets the scene straight away; the level of humour, the undertone of the deeper things to come, and the sense of freedom that is beginning to encompass the author’s new life in his new land.
Reading this book I really felt that I was in the audience of one of Sami Shah’s stand-up comedy shows. There’s energy and humour in the written prose along with that self-deprecatory tone of voice frequently adopted by stand-up comedians.
There are extremely funny moments that had me laughing out loud; others that left me teary-eyed at the scale of humanity’s potential for absolute disregard for the value of human life. After all doesn’t good comedy have the undertone of tragedy looming below the surface?
In structure the book is grouped around the major events that have shaped Sami’s personal story. A career in journalism, life as a student, and of course the ever present role of the comedian.
Sami Shah initially entered the University of Virginia to study Computer Science. However the gravitational pull towards the English Department and topics other than science, changed the focus for him. He graduated with a Bachelor Degree majoring in English instead. Two weeks into university life and on his way back to his dorm from one a science class, he was, as usual reading a comic book. Looking up, he was just in time to avoid tripping over several young women taking advantage of the glorious warm sunny day. They were scantily bikini-clad seeking to gain an early summer tan. Sami writes ‘that was when I truly understood what being in America meant.’. Rather than being shocked by the revelation of more flesh than he’d ever seen in his entire life, Sami admits to being delighted.
Sami doesn’t avoid sharing his passion for comic books, in particular the Archie and Veronica romantic stories – I rather enjoyed those too during my teens. He also explores sexual curiosity, the discovery of masturbation and the place of fantasy in his life, and those of young boys and men across Karachi and indeed Pakistan in general. Thinking he’d discovered something original in his use of these matters in his own comedy routine, he’s amazed to discover when he first goes overseas, that it’s ‘old hat’ in the routines of stand-up comics everywhere. There’s also the ‘f…k’ word making a frequent appearance; around where I live in Melbourne it’s common language, a bit like the tendency to insert ‘like’ every other word in a conversation.
The events of September 11 occurred at that time when Sami, in his final year at university, wavered between staying on in the US, or returning home to Pakistan. It was this event and the ineptly handled ‘interview’ camouflaged has idle chatter with an FBI agent who entered the bookshop where Sami was working, that decided the return to Pakistan following graduation.
Sami found Karachi a very different place, the changes eventually lead him to question it’s politics, as well as it’s citizens who accommodated their lives around suicide bombings and religious persecution. He found even in his own family, the resilience and adjustment to devastating events admirable, yet somewhat disturbingly evocative of placid acceptance expressing the odd complaint but never openly or acting to challenge the situation. Ultimately it was the big question regarding family, the rights of children to have expectations of safety and a promising future that caused Sami to become more political in his writing and his comedy; particularly following the birth of his daughter Anya.
Children do bring change and upheaval in the lives of all parents, but many of us have not faced the questions that someone like Sami had to resolve. These considerations brought him to the ultimate decision to migrate to Australia so that his wife and their beloved daughter could have a chance of a life lived in freedom and a choice of future expectations that his homeland at the time can’t provide.
Satire and outright comic storytelling is a wonderful vehicle to convey some of these deeper, unsettling insights into the darker side of human existence. Events that force a choice to leave behind a country, close ties with parents, extended family and friends, good enjoyable careers making sacrifices just as Sami and his family have done. They’re not really a country people, however the conditions of their visa entry require that they become regional dwellers in Australia for a minimum of two years.
So enters Northam in regional Western Australia where the Shah’s reside. A small town and with a refugee detention centre on its outskirts initially viewed the Shah’s with deep suspicion. That suspicion is reflected more broadly in the Australian psyche presented through the media, in political debate around ‘illegal migrants’, refugees who, unlike Sami, arrive following extremely dangerous journeys by boat.
Sami Shah covers this too, and he does it well, managing to convey a sense of the weirdness of a people who themselves have also originated from people who came to this land by boat ‘after all it’s a huge island’.
That’s the strength in this book for me. That it can make one think more deeply whilst causing much laughter and lightness of spirit. That’s surely a gift and thanks Sami Shah for using it so well. The cover blurb says ‘we are lucky to have Sami Shah’. Couldn’t agree more.

Thanks to Good Reads First Look and publisher Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read and review this uncorrected proof.
...more

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Aug 30, 2014 Sam Still Reading rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: those looking for a funny and moving autobiography

Recommended to Sam Still Reading by: from publisher & TRR

When a book makes you laugh on the first page, you know you’re on to a winner. With I, Migrant, Sami Shah tells us a story that is shocking and violent but ultimately full of humour and hope. It’s a story that allows the average Australian to compare how peaceful and relaxed day to day life is here with that for someone in Karachi, Pakistan where it is accepted that you will be robbed at gunpoint and it’s nothing to do your school exams as bombs fall.

Sami starts his story with one that has happe When a book makes you laugh on the first page, you know you’re on to a winner. With I, Migrant, Sami Shah tells us a story that is shocking and violent but ultimately full of humour and hope. It’s a story that allows the average Australian to compare how peaceful and relaxed day to day life is here with that for someone in Karachi, Pakistan where it is accepted that you will be robbed at gunpoint and it’s nothing to do your school exams as bombs fall.

Sami starts his story with one that has happened to many Australians, especially if they live in the country – swerving to avoid hitting a kangaroo while driving. It’s a powerful opening, especially as many country Aussies have had drilled into them from before they can drive – hit the kangaroo. Don’t swerve. (Yes, that is true. Better to hit the animal than to swerve at high speed and do more damage to yourself). As Sami points out, it wouldn’t have looked very good if he’d hit the kangaroo, being a migrant and killing the national emblem. Secondly, what is he doing, dying by kangaroo after surviving suicide bombings and guns in Karachi? The introduction sets up a story that is very, very difficult to put down.

Sami tells the story of different parts of his life, not in a chronological fashion, which is refreshing. He jumps straight into his time working at Dawn Network, a 24 hour news channel in Pakistan and covering Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan. It wasn’t a pretty event, which led to death and destruction across the city. Life is frenzied for Sami, who needs to think on his feet constantly, hence the Red Bull and cigarette or three. Life is crazy and chaotic but the one thing that shines through is how stoic the people of Karachi are. Bombs mean that city roads are closed? Take another route. Had your phone and wallet stolen at gunpoint? Carry on. It’s a bravery that I can’t even begin to imagine. Later, Sami Shah becomes Pakistan’s first stand-up comedian, showing the people how they can laugh at themselves and their situation. Still, it’s not a full time job and he must work at a soul-sucking job by day and create comedy by night, testing out jokes on the game Second Life (there are some really funny descriptions of this game and I’m wondering why I never got into it).

Things are beginning to change in Pakistan and Sami becomes bitter. His regular newspaper columns are more rants that entertainment and he has his wife and daughter to consider. It’s decided that they should try for a visa to Australia. After a long, long time, they are allowed to come to Perth, but must reside in rural area for two years. Easy – they’ll live in Mandurah, which is practically a southern suburb of Perth with beach, canals and public transport close by. Unfortunately, their plans don’t quite match the reality of the mining boom and the growing popularity of Mandurah so the family move to Northam. This is where I became particularly interested, as my grandparents (also migrants to Australia) lived in Northam (north east of Perth) for some time. As a kid, I never thought all that much of the town (except the famous swans in the river). It was interesting to read Sami’s reflections on it, such as the lack of nightlife and the reaction of the local people to the immigration detention centre out of town. Work isn’t easy to find for Sami, but he finds a niche in Perth’s growing comedy scene. Later, he is interviewed for Australian Story, a television show about real people and events in their life and interest grows in his story, leading to this book. I’m really glad he wrote it – I got to understand more about Karachi and its politics in addition to understanding what it was like to come to Australia as an outsider. It’s really not easy – there’s a lot that the average person doesn’t realise about the red tape to come to a new country. Sami and his family should be congratulated – hope you stick around, mate!

Thank you to Allen & Unwin and The Reading Room for the ARC of this book.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
...more

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May 13, 2015 Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

My View:
Sami Shah writes with an evocative truth that will take you through a range of emotions. Living in Pakistan and experiencing such turmoil, violence, fear and discrimination is one that most Westerners will never understand or appreciate. I (and my family) spent eighteen months living in Sri Lanka in 1993/1994 and though I did not experience terrorism first hand, I did experience its effect on the people around me and the community I was living in. It became the norm to expect to be searc
My View:
Sami Shah writes with an evocative truth that will take you through a range of emotions. Living in Pakistan and experiencing such turmoil, violence, fear and discrimination is one that most Westerners will never understand or appreciate. I (and my family) spent eighteen months living in Sri Lanka in 1993/1994 and though I did not experience terrorism first hand, I did experience its effect on the people around me and the community I was living in. It became the norm to expect to be searched when entering buildings, shopping centres, parking lots etc. Sensible behaviour was to avoid crowds, pageants, processions and anything to do with elections. The president was assassinated the day I arrived in the country; curfews and tear gas were new experiences I would rather not have had. The TV and local papers filled with images of severed heads and gore, images that were to become “everyday”, commonplace, as the toll of terrorism and suicide bombers grew. I understand a little of what you have seen Sami but not what you experienced. But life went on, in Sri Lanka, in Pakistan. This violence or threat of violence became normalised - and that is indeed a tragedy. Sami shares his experiences – and I think we are all better off for reading them and considering how we might have coped or not in his situation. It does us good to walk a while in some one else’s shoes if only through the power of his words.

Despite the violence that surrounded Sami, this is not a depressing book, and in fact it is the opposite. It is full of hope and full of dark humour and personal reflections – some I found a little too personal, but that’s just me. 

Sami Shah is an astute observer of human behaviour perhaps that is the key to being a successful Stand-up Comedian (and a successful writer). I will share some of his wisdom and humour with you, observations that struck a chord with me:

On writing/finding material for his TV shows in Pakistan: “There were some phenomena I discovered that could be guaranteed to write their own punch lines. The most reliable was that, no matter who the politician was and where in the world they were speaking, if they espoused an opinion on something, you could find – with enough research – earlier footage of them saying the exact opposite with just as much conviction. I also realised, more than ever before, that every news story is merely a repeat of events that had occurred previously, with minor changes in the cast of characters at best.” (pp.132-133)

“Death, no matter who brings it, will come unannounced and so there is no point in waiting around for it.” (p.39)

“Journalists fancy themselves as being at the front line of human experience –divers into the deepest seas of reality, plunging to extreme pressures that would crush a submarine and turn a chartered accountant or marketer into jelly. The only other life forms capable of surviving to those depths are doctors and soldiers. “(p.50)
“You can tell everything about a person by the books they read.”(p. 94)

Sami comments about learning the skills of comedy, “... I studied the power of a simple observation and how the more specific to your own life you get, the more likely you are to speak to a larger shared experience. The great wisdom of stand-up comedy is that if it happened to you, no matter what it is, then it probably happened to other people too.” (pp.109-110)
...more

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Oct 01, 2014 Silpa Kohler rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book follows Sami Shah’s life from selling his soul as a junior art director at an advertising agency (JWT) to working a number of highly unsociable hours at Karachi’s Dawn News, where he covered one too many gory events. The attempted assassination of Benezir Bhutto, during which his close colleague was almost killed, was the last straw for Shah and following this, he decided to leave and explore his career into the world of comedy further. Having dabbled in some improvisation with the ver This book follows Sami Shah’s life from selling his soul as a junior art director at an advertising agency (JWT) to working a number of highly unsociable hours at Karachi’s Dawn News, where he covered one too many gory events. The attempted assassination of Benezir Bhutto, during which his close colleague was almost killed, was the last straw for Shah and following this, he decided to leave and explore his career into the world of comedy further. Having dabbled in some improvisation with the very successful Black Fish team, he already had a good grounding in the art. Shah describes his time at the University of Virginia, where he switched from Computer Science to English, comically and I empathised when he wrote about the long wait that he and his wife (Ishma) had to endure in order to be presented with an Australian visa to live and work in regional WA. I think the line that got me was: ‘Australian immigration works at a glacial pace’.

This was a different take on the Pakistan that we know - it described their appreciation of humour, their resilient nature (which was summed up well with the line: ‘a bomb blast in the morning doesn't affect the evening's plans’), their power outages… so yes, there is political unrest and there are suicide bombings but this isn’t the focus of the story. Shah’s dedication (doing online comedy shows at 3.30am, before he went to work!) to his comedy career was admirable and it made me appreciate just how long it takes for a comedian to pull together even an hour of material (up to several years). He elevated his career through viewing other comedians, becoming involved in podcasts (and the Second Life) and then working on his own satirical news show, News Weakly. He's worked pretty damn hard.

His semi-rant towards the end of the book about Abbott’s immigration policies and the general treatment of refugees didn’t surprise me. I think it’s the same rant that a few other people would have. I’d be interested to hear how he goes on with his time in Northam; he doesn’t sound like he’s going to take any racist shit from anyone and good on him for that.

I thought Shah wrote very well. At times perhaps the book was a little overwritten but it was funny and I found myself laughing out loud on a number of occasions. I didn’t like the lack of chronology in the book and the fact that it jumped around - I felt like Bhutto had been killed about three times for all the times that Shah went back to that one event. Other than struggling to keep track of what happened when, I thought this was a great, quick read and I’d be keen to view the episode of Australian Story that Shah refers to. 4 stars. ...more

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Oct 14, 2014 Rania T rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Well, what can I say? Hope this book is not on sale in Pakistan, as it would be swiftly relegated to the naughty cupboard under every school librarian's desk in the country, as is every other 'notorious' book that comes their way. (Jeffrey Archer anyone???) But saying that, I feel that Sami Shah is suffering from a 'gora' complex and has written this book to appeal to a Western audience with his preconceived notions of what they want to read about Pakistan, not really what goes on there. In sayi Well, what can I say? Hope this book is not on sale in Pakistan, as it would be swiftly relegated to the naughty cupboard under every school librarian's desk in the country, as is every other 'notorious' book that comes their way. (Jeffrey Archer anyone???) But saying that, I feel that Sami Shah is suffering from a 'gora' complex and has written this book to appeal to a Western audience with his preconceived notions of what they want to read about Pakistan, not really what goes on there. In saying that has taken the licence in exaggerating life there. Trust me, not everybody has been 'molested' at some point like he claims happens. Yes, there is crime, there is poverty, there is violence but this roots of all this stems from factors like post-colonialism which are not the theme in this book.

Furthermore, Sami Shah is from the "burger" class who desire to all branded and all things Western and are cynical about their own culture. Strange he does not mention he probably had a nanny, a cook, a driver, washerwoman and cleaner and office peons at his beck and call to do all his dirty work, and being in a position of 'elite' privilege still had the audacity to be as negative as he was. Yes, we do know that "sex sells" but I feel that the editors could have made a lot more nip and tucks than what they did, as I also do not want to know about Sami Shah's 'sexual hangups' which are straight from the pages of a rejected Harrold Robins novel. Or about his love for Mills and Boon which is something he would have had in common with the assassinated Benazir Bhutto he seems to be 'fixated' on. Moreover, Pakistani A-Level students are not into extreme forms of dating each other or wanting to have 'orgies' as he so eloquently puts it. I think that is one of his depraved toilet room fantasies, which leads me to believe he would have been more the harasser than the harassed, and there is more to the story about the failure of the DAWN news channel than he lets on.

Wonder if he will write a book about the 'those Westerners' for his Pakistani readers sometime in the future? ...more

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Sep 07, 2014 Pete rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, autobiography, humour

, Migrant (2014) by Sami Shah is a book about Shah's experience growing up in Pakistan, going to college in the US, working in Pakistan during recent turbulent times and then moving to Australia. Shah is a stand up comedian and he manages to make the sometimes horrific material engaging and funny.

The book's sections on Pakistan are remarkable and readable. Daily life in Karachi is presented and the picture is incredible. Regular theft at gunpoint and bombings are something citizens of the capita ...more

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Sep 29, 2014 Cheyenne Blue rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, australian

This wasn't what I was expecting from the book blurb. From the blurb, I was expecting a book about a Pakistani comedian who migrates to Oz and is relating his experiences in a rural community. Instead, the majority of the book is about Shah's life and experiences in journalism and performing stand up comedy in Pakistan. Only approximately 10% of the book is about his migrant experiences in Australia.

I found it fairly dull, but that's because I'm not particularly interested in journalism and come ...more

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Oct 06, 2014 Rhoda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book as part of First Reads and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The author writes extremely well and is able to paint pictures with words so well!

The parts about life in Pakistan were fascinating...I can't imagine a life where bomb blasts etc are normal and would not wish that on anyone.

It was also very interesting to read about the ways in which a comedian goes about gathering their material and trying it out on audiences. I guess it was something I had never really thought about bef ...more

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Nov 23, 2014 Leo Boudib rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It's not every day you read a book that makes you laugh aloud in public spaces, but whether you're on a bus, in a cafe or the quiet reading section of the library, expect a few raised eyebrows as you pay lol homage to the many introspective insights and disconcerting revelations Sami reveals about the human psyche, Pakistani, American and Australian cultures. Sami's journey is inspiring, yet his wealth of activities and knowledge leaves me wondering if he ever actually sleeps.
I hope he, Ishma a ...more

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Sep 16, 2016 Kyle Mullen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

We had an autobiography/memoir unit for my English class where we had to pick out a book and read it, when I picked up this book my original goal was just to find a book that wouldn't bore me out of my mind. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book not only sparked my interest, but also managed to give me a few laughs along the way. It's hilarious and a really good book, if you're in need of a good read, this is your kind of literature. It could only be improved by possibly spending ...more

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May 17, 2016 Tariq Mahmood rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: pakistan, south-east-asia

What a delightely engaging and hilarious autobiography. Sami's story kept me captivated throughout the whole time. I also felt that the book wasedited nicely with short sharp chapters. Sami's observations about Pakistan and Australia were thought provoking and kinda made sense. I particularly enjoyed reading about his experiences within the nascent entertainment industry in Pakistan.

Wonderful read. ...more

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Jul 01, 2015 Rosemary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A Pakistani standup comedian who is the first to perform in English. What a tale this is. You get a kind of history of modern Karachi and Pakistan, as well as a life story, told with frankness and humour. How did he end up avoiding kangaroos as he drove north from Perth? It is a great first volume of his autobiography as I hope he writes more.

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Sep 20, 2014 Brooner rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Fascinating insight into life in Karachi, and Pakistani life world-wide, especially the migrant experience of Australia. Filled with humour, and a thoughtful commentary of some of the experiences faced by Muslims and migrants both at home and abroad.

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Feb 12, 2015 Sharon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Really great book, I found it fascinating to gain insight into what life is like for those who live in Pakistan.
I know of this comedian from articles in the paper and will probably pay more attention to his work after reading this book.

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Feb 24, 2015 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

Who would've thought that a young Pakistani, that honed his comedic skills amid suicide bombers in Karachi, would find himself changes attitudes in rural (and urban) Australia! A really enjoyable book! ...more

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Oct 30, 2015 Monica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

This was a very interesting book. I expected it to be funnier than it was, although it was funny. I feel like I have a much better sense of what modern-day Pakistan is like after having read this book.

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Jul 16, 2014 Merzi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A hilarious tongue in cheek humoured book. The lighter side of Pakistan, Karachi and Northam.

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Aug 31, 2014 LaToya Donnellan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A great read. Insightful, inspiring, horrifying and hilarious.

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Oct 30, 2014 Rebecca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wonderfully written, a great story, and a fantastic insight into someone else's life. Highly recommended ...more

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Nov 22, 2014 Susan Mapp rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A perfect mixture if comedy, history, culture and current events!

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Jan 06, 2015 Megan Howe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Fascinating - and scary - insight into life in Karachi and Pakistan, through the eyes of a very funny man who seems to tell it like it is. I laughed at lots of parts and was horrified by others.

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Feb 07, 2015 Oanh rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2015

Both a heart warming and heart breaking story (or perhaps more accurately - stories), with lots of laughs out loud (does what it says on the tin!) Great to get a more nuanced perspective.

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Sami Shah

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Pakistani Comedian and writer Sami Shah has been profiled in the New York Times and ABC's The Australian Story.

His autobiography, "I, MIGRANT" has been nominated for the NSW Premier's Literary Award WA Premier's Literary Award, and the Russell Prize for Humour Writing.

His first novel "FIRE BOY" was released in June 2016, with the sequel due in early 2017.

Sami writes columns for, Fairfax Media, the ...more