Author(s): Imran Ahmad

General Fiction

Part White Teeth, part Adrian Mole, Unimagined is the beguiling memoir of a Muslim boy born in Pakistan, who moves to London aged two and grows up to embrace the West. The endearing narrator recalls his childhood in a series of vivid snapshots: outrage as deserved victory is snatched away from him in the Karachi Bonnie Baby contest; being tricked out of his collection of Tarzan bubblegum cards by a junior con artist; the heady taste of success in the Metropolitan Police schools quiz; joyfully passing the entrance exam to the local grammar school; and, shock at experiencing racist abuse from pupils, neighbours and strangers. Imran's response is to dedicate himself to an eternal quest to become the quintessential English gentleman: tie perfectly knotted, shirt pristinely ironed, hair neatly combed. And, like most boys, he has a parallel obsession with cars and girls: he yearns to emulate his hero Simon Templar in Return of the Saint, by driving off into the distance in a Jaguar XJS and encountering danger, adventure - and a vivacious brunette.