Londonstani
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Londonstani is the name of Gautam Malkani's debut novel, first published in the United Kingdom in 2006. The name is derived from the setting of the novel, London, and the fact that the subject matter is the lives of second and third generation South Asian immigrants.
[edit] Plot summary
The novel is told by Jas, the smart youth who used to read books has become a newly accepted member in to Hardjit's gang of middle-class mummy's boys who pretend to be ghetto thugs. The novel starts of with Hardjit assaulting a white student who Hardjit thinks called him a "Paki". After Hardjit is done the group then heads over to Davinder, who supplies them with pseudo-stolen phone to reprogram. As the group returns to Hardjit's house Amit, the perverted member of the group, breaks the phone when he's playing around with it. Annoyed and angered, Hardjit demands Amit replace the phone. The novel then takes to a fight between Hardjit and a Pakistani Muslim, Tariq, who Hardjit accuses of trying to convert Sikh girls to Islam. During the fight the police arrive and question the group. Out of nowhere the gangs old Teacher, Mr. Ashwood, arrives at the scene and convinces the police that they were only bhangra dancing. While Mr. Ashwood is talking to the police Amit searches Mr. Ashwoods coat pocket and pickpockets the type of phone he broke. When Mr. Ashwood returns and finds his phone missing he suspects the group that they stole it. When they finally admit to stealing the phone and also to their lucrative business, he then black mails the group to speak with a former student of his who graduated Cambridge, Sanjay, or he would call the cops. When the group heads over to Sanjay's they expect him to be an effeminate coconut (someone with brown skin who acts like their white), but their expectations are not true. Sanjay, a wealthy businessman, offers them a deal that they would continue scamming cellphones, but would give the give the cellphones to him without reprogramming them and in return Sanjay would pay them. The group then reluctantly agrees and becomes wealthy quickly. Sanjay also gives advice to Jas about getting the girl of his dreams Samira Ahmed, a young Pakistani muslim girl. Eventually he does begin to go out with her, but must do in secrecy out of fear that Jas's Friends or Samira's brothers would try to kill Jas due to their religious hostilities . As the novel progresses Jas eventually befriends Amit's brother Arun and gives him advice on how to deal with his mother, who is trying to control Arun's wedding.
Later on, Arun and his Mother have a huge falling out and Jas becomes involved. Since Amit believed Jas created family problems he avoids Jas. Afterwards Hardjit and Ravi find out about Jas's secret relationship with Samira and estrange themselves from Jas. Arun then commits suicide with an aspirin overdose , which estranges Jas from the gang even more so. After the funeral Jas and Samira get into a fight and break up. When Jas goes to Sanjay's for refuge Sanjay tells Jas that he owes him two hundred phones or else Sanjay will send photoshop pictures of Jas and Samira to everyone in the community. Jas, who cannot use Hardjit's contacts decides that he must steal from his father's phone store. While Jas is robbing his father's store, he is attacked by three hooded men and gets knocked out. When Jas becomes conscious he desperately tries to remove the blood from the carpet by burning it. The store then engulfs in flames and Jas becomes unconscious again. As the novel comes to a close, Jas wakes up in a hospital finding his parents at his bedside yelling at him for what he's done. It is at this point the novel takes a plot twist that could only ever happen in a book, as opposed to in a film. The reader discovers that Jas is in fact a young white male, named is Jason, who has just implanted himself in the Indian subculture in London. His parents confront him with this fact during their argument in the hospital.
[edit] Sales
According to an analysis of UK book sales in Private Eye issue 1181 (30th March 2007), the book has sold 8,020 copies. As the author received an unusually large advance payment of £400,000, another 330,578 copies would have to be sold for the publisher, HarperCollins, to make back the advance. This placed the book at the number 1 position on the magazine's "Worstseller List".[1]
However, according to other sources, the advance paid to Malkani was lower and was part of a two-book deal, thereby implying the figure quoted in Private Eye was more than double the actual advance paid for Londonstani itself. According to Time magazine, the advance was: "$675,000 (£343,000) as part of a two-book deal".[2] The London Evening Standard reported an "advance of £380,000 for a two-book deal",[3], and the Daily Telegraph cited an advance of "£380,000 as part of a two-book deal".[4]
