Overview

The hilarious and piercing memoir about growing up gay in a not-so-gay world Even as a young child in Lahore, Komail was made to feel different. Boys don't pirouette off of the dining table. Boys don't burst into songs from The Little Mermaid unprovoked. Boys don't play together like that. It's dangerous. 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. As a promising young artist, he dreamed that through his work he might one day find fulfillment in the outstretched (ideally muscular) arms of America. Instead, arriving in the self-proclaimed land of tolerance, Komail finds himself at turns denied or fetishized for the color of his skin and scrutinized due to the color of his passport. And as if that weren't enough, his art is seen through a cultural lens that only evaluates that which is not white in relation to that which is. Searching for his place somewhere between these two worlds means navigating a minefield of expectations, assumptions and self-doubt. Komail discovers, sometimes painfully, there are people (and even parts of himself) he'll need to let go of to move forward, because it's sometimes the people closest to you in life who trip you up. But then there are also those who get you through.

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9781529929386

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Reviews

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 * 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 * 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 *

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 * 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 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 * 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 * 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 *

Author Information

Komail Aijazuddin is a visual artist and writer with degrees from New York University and the Pratt Institute, who lives and works in New York City and Lahore.

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