A FAMILY ON LOVE RELAY

Kier and I, fifteen years ago

Dear Readers,

I have some exciting news. In the coming weeks, I will be publishing the never before seen SEQUEL TO THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA, exclusive to Substack.

It’s a short book and it will be paywalled, so please do become a paid subscriber if you enjoy The Kureishi Chronicles, believe in paying for good writing, and want to be the first to read the sequel, which is titled This is the End.

Monthly memberships are now priced at £5.00

And yearly memberships are £50.00

Hanif xx

My last few blogs, I’ve been told, have been gloomy, if not outright sad. But from the start, I have tried to keep this journal as honest as I can, writing down exactly how I feel. When I first began to write, as a disturbed and semi-delinquent teenager, I believed there were people outside of my bedroom and the suburbs – at least one person – who would recognise or understand me.

There is something of that, I think, in what I’m trying to do with this blog.  It is partly a diary, written for myself, but as my son Carlo likes to remind me, this journal has gained a considerable audience; people look forward to reading it, and seem to appreciate it. That has certainly surprised me, since being new to Substack and Twitter, I had no idea whether there would be a readership or not. Now, something has happened between writer and reader, and it is beautiful and ongoing. Carlo adds that nurses and people with lifelong ailments all over the world – from Nigeria to Lewisham – seek solace in my ramblings; they follow them intently and write me long letters every week, urging me on, talking with one another. A real community has formed.