Hanif Kureishi

From the global successes of My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia, through to late masterpieces such as The Nothing, Hanif Kureishi is one of Britain's most popular and versatile writers.

Drawing on Kureishi's unexplored personal archive, recently acquired by the British Library, each chapter in Ruvani Ranasinha's jaw-droppingly honest biography recounts a decade of the author's life, illuminating the work he produced in the period. This structure reflects the novelist and screenwriter's own preoccupation with self-reinvention and the fluidity of identity: 'Every decade you become someone else.'

Kureishi has redefined British identity, exploring key issues such as Thatcherism, terrorism, race, class and sexuality. This book offers the first in-depth exploration of his life and work, looking at his novels, short stories and screenplays, as well as his collaborations with such figures as David Bowie, Roger Michell and Stephen Frears. Throughout, Ranasinha analyses this sometimes controversial figure with wit and empathy.