The Buddha of Suburbia

by

Hanif Kureishi

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Charlie Character Analysis

Charlie is Eva's son and Karim's crush and idol as a teen. Charlie is a year older than Karim and is described as being exceptionally handsome. However, Karim soon learns that despite Charlie's charm and good looks, he's cruel. He never returns Karim's affections, even after their sexual experience together, and he throws Karim into his drum set and makes him bleed. As Dad and Eva's relationship strengthens, Charlie drops out of school. Karim begins to realize that Charlie is charming but not necessarily a good musician. As Charlie spirals from his lack of success, he steals from Eva and from Karim. Eva ignores his thefts, but Karim resents Charlie for stealing all of his shirts. When Charlie and Karim go to a pub and see a punk band perform, Charlie has an epiphany. Though he and Karim mock the punks at first, Charlie wholeheartedly embraces the aesthetic and sentiment of the punks and very quickly becomes famous. His first album is very successful, and Karim even hears Matthew Pyke's son playing it five years after its release. The press often asks Eva for interviews about Charlie. Near the end of the novel, Charlie moves to New York. He finds New York refreshing and thinks that London is dirty and stagnated. In New York, Charlie also comes to the realization that he's not a great musician. He realizes he's good, but he doesn't have the innovation necessary to be truly great. Despite this, Charlie lives a wealthy life in New York and employs Karim for a while. Karim realizes he doesn't love or care about Charlie anymore when Charlie hires a dominatrix to humiliate him and invites Karim to participate. Karim watches with interest, but returns to London days later and doesn't look back.

Charlie Quotes in The Buddha of Suburbia

The The Buddha of Suburbia quotes below are all either spoken by Charlie or refer to Charlie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 5 Quotes

I wonder if Charlie really knew this, felt this, or whether his life as he lived it from day to day was as fucked-up and perplexed as everyone else's.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Charlie
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 10 Quotes

It was a wonderful trick and disguise. The one flaw, I giggled to myself, was his milky and healthy white teeth, which, to me, betrayed everything else.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Eva, Charlie
Page Number: 149
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 17 Quotes

"Well then, can't you stop standing there and looking so English?"

"What d'you mean, English?"

"So shocked, so self-righteous and moral, so loveless and incapable of dancing. They are narrow, the English. It is a Kingdom of Prejudice over there. Don't be like it!"

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Charlie (speaker), Frankie
Page Number: 254
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Buddha of Suburbia LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Buddha of Suburbia PDF

Charlie Quotes in The Buddha of Suburbia

The The Buddha of Suburbia quotes below are all either spoken by Charlie or refer to Charlie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 5 Quotes

I wonder if Charlie really knew this, felt this, or whether his life as he lived it from day to day was as fucked-up and perplexed as everyone else's.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Charlie
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 10 Quotes

It was a wonderful trick and disguise. The one flaw, I giggled to myself, was his milky and healthy white teeth, which, to me, betrayed everything else.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Eva, Charlie
Page Number: 149
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 17 Quotes

"Well then, can't you stop standing there and looking so English?"

"What d'you mean, English?"

"So shocked, so self-righteous and moral, so loveless and incapable of dancing. They are narrow, the English. It is a Kingdom of Prejudice over there. Don't be like it!"

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Charlie (speaker), Frankie
Page Number: 254
Explanation and Analysis: