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Manboobs

The funny and moving memoir about growing up gay in a not-so-gay world

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Manboobs

Written by: Komail Aijazuddin
Narrated by: Komail Aijazuddin
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Buy Now for ₹649.68

Buy Now for ₹649.68

Brought to you by Penguin.

The hilarious and piercing memoir about growing up gay in a not-so-gay world.

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?

How can you find happiness despite years of humiliation, fear and a legion of Brooklyn hipsters who know you only as a queer from Whereveristan?

How do you summon the courage to be yourself no matter where you are?

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.

‘An important story, told with a sharp wit and disarming humour’ MOHSIN ZAIDI

‘Vastly entertaining and wickedly funny’ GREG MARSHALL

© Komali Aijazuddin 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

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Critic Reviews

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.
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.
Brilliant, spectacularly witty and genuinely moving. I loved it.
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.
This book is laugh out loud funny. A love letter to self acceptance and the pursuit of confidence. Go get it.
A kaleidoscopic journey in search of happiness and freedom—Aijazuddin’s account is hip, engrossing, deeply moving, and remarkably funny.
Deeply incisive, the kind of unflinching queer catharsis which takes up the whole stage before burning it down. Something to be really proud of.
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.
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.
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.
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