Description

Discover the must-read, coming-of-age queer memoir about learning how to love yourself in a world that doesn’t want you to.

‘A beautiful celebration of being different.’ TOM ALLEN

‘An important story, told with a sharp wit and disarming humour’ MOHSIN ZAIDI author of A Dutiful Boy

‘Brilliant, spectacularly witty and genuinely moving. I loved it.’ MATTHEW TODD, author of Straight Jacket

I’m just a man, standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a cake.

What do you do when you’re too gay for Pakistan, too Pakistani to be gay in America and you’re ashamed of your body everywhere?

Even as a young child in Lahore, Komail Aijazuddin knew he was different. Other boys didn’t pirouette off their desks, get bullied for their ‘manboobs’ or spontaneously burst into songs from The Little Mermaid. Other boys didn’t play together like that.

Starved of a crucial part of himself, he ate. And ate. Before long, his own body became another burden to carry everywhere and to hide. Komail began to believe his only chance at a happy, meaningful life would be found elsewhere: in America, land of the free, home of the gays. But he would soon learn that finding happiness takes a lot more than a plane ticket.

This is Aijazuddin’s riotous, intelligent memoir of searching for his place between two worlds while navigating a minefield of expectations, prejudice and self-doubt. In Manboobs, Aijazuddin confidently announces himself as a sharp new voice in humour with his moving, wickedly funny search for love and the bravery required to be yourself.

Publisher Review

A beautiful celebration of being different. This is a book for anyone who remembers musicals, the 1980s, being bullied for liking musicals, and ‘old souls’ everywhere. * TOM ALLEN * Manboobs is an important story, told with a sharp wit and disarming humor. Aijazuddin has the ability to address difficult subjects with thoughtfulness and honesty, while also making you laugh out loud. * MOHSIN ZAIDI, author of A Dutiful Boy * Brilliant, spectacularly witty and genuinely moving. I loved it.
MATTHEW TODD, author of Straight Jacket * MATTHEW TODD, author of Straight Jacket * At once both humorous and heartbreaking, his memoir allows his bubbly personality to shine in a story about letting go of shame and finding self-acceptance. * Washington Post * This book is laugh out loud funny. A love letter to self acceptance and the pursuit of confidence. Go get it. * KEVIN JAMES THORNTON * A kaleidoscopic journey in search of happiness and freedom-Aijazuddin’s account is hip, engrossing, deeply moving, and remarkably funny. * MANIL SURI, award-winning author of The Death of Vishnu * Deeply incisive, the kind of unflinching queer catharsis which takes up the whole stage before burning it down. Something to be really proud of. * OLIVER DARKSHIRE, author of Once Upon a Tome * Vastly entertaining and wickedly funny …Aijazuddin has given us a globetrotting bildungsroman for the twenty-first century filled with danger, wit, harrowing escapes, and, yes, musicals. He just might be the most interesting man you’ll ever take to bed with you. * GREG MARSHALL, author of Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It * A sharply witty and heartwarmingly candid memoir that pirouettes across Lahore, London, and New York City in a quest for home. Part coming-of-age story, part musical extravaganza, this isn’t just a tale about growing up gay in Pakistan with body image woes; it’s a masterclass in turning life’s dissonance into exhilarating adventure…Curtain up on an extraordinary tale of self-acceptance and celebration. * CYRUS COPELAND, author Off the Radar * A fabulously witty book about betrayal by many promises: the American dream, Pakistani and religious nationalism, family, love. Wrenchingly personal, unflaggingly generous to the reader, yet full of penetrating social commentary, this book gives you nowhere to hide even as you split your sides laughing. * SADIA ABBAS, author of The Empty Room *