The Buddha of Suburbia

by

Hanif Kureishi

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Mum is Karim's mother. She's a plump and generally miserable Englishwoman, though she went to art school and enjoys drawing. She works in a shoe shop. Mum is devastated when her husband, Haroon, leaves her for Eva. She spends months living with her sister, Jean, during which time she mostly lies in bed and does nothing. Karim doesn't visit her much during this time. Later in the novel, Mum moves back into the house she once shared with Haroon. She makes it her own and Karim notes that she suddenly seems to enjoy cleaning. She also diets and makes over her wardrobe. Allie confides in Karim at the end of the novel that Mum has a boyfriend, Jimmy. He's much younger than Mum, and Mum doesn't want him knowing about Allie or Karim so she doesn't have to admit how old she is. Regardless, Karim thinks that Mum seems very happy with him.

Mum Quotes in The Buddha of Suburbia

The The Buddha of Suburbia quotes below are all either spoken by Mum or refer to Mum. 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 1 Quotes

But divorce wasn't something that would occur to them. In the suburbs people rarely dreamed of striking out for happiness. It was all familiarity and endurance: security and safety were the reward of dullness.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Haroon (Dad), Mum
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 2 Quotes

If Mum was irritated by Dad's aristocratic uselessness, she was also proud of his family. "They're higher than the Churchills," she said to people...This ensured there would be no confusion between Dad and the swarms of Indian peasants who came to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and of whom it was said they were not familiar with cutlery and certainly not with toilets...

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Mum (speaker), Haroon (Dad)
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 8 Quotes

Watching this, I was developing my own angry theories of love. Surely love had to be something more generous than this high-spirited egotism-à-deux? In their hands love seemed a narrow-eyed, exclusive, selfish bastard, to enjoy itself at the expense of a woman who now lay in bed in Auntie Jean's house, her life unconsidered. Mum's wretchedness was the price Dad had chosen to pay for his happiness. How could he have done it?

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Haroon (Dad), Eva, Mum
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 15 Quotes

You go all your life thinking of your parents as these crushing protective monsters with infinite power over you, and then there's a day when you turn round, catch them unexpectedly, and they're just weak, nervous people trying to get by with each other.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Haroon (Dad), Mum
Page Number: 228
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mum Quotes in The Buddha of Suburbia

The The Buddha of Suburbia quotes below are all either spoken by Mum or refer to Mum. 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 1 Quotes

But divorce wasn't something that would occur to them. In the suburbs people rarely dreamed of striking out for happiness. It was all familiarity and endurance: security and safety were the reward of dullness.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Haroon (Dad), Mum
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 2 Quotes

If Mum was irritated by Dad's aristocratic uselessness, she was also proud of his family. "They're higher than the Churchills," she said to people...This ensured there would be no confusion between Dad and the swarms of Indian peasants who came to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and of whom it was said they were not familiar with cutlery and certainly not with toilets...

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Mum (speaker), Haroon (Dad)
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 8 Quotes

Watching this, I was developing my own angry theories of love. Surely love had to be something more generous than this high-spirited egotism-à-deux? In their hands love seemed a narrow-eyed, exclusive, selfish bastard, to enjoy itself at the expense of a woman who now lay in bed in Auntie Jean's house, her life unconsidered. Mum's wretchedness was the price Dad had chosen to pay for his happiness. How could he have done it?

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Haroon (Dad), Eva, Mum
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 15 Quotes

You go all your life thinking of your parents as these crushing protective monsters with infinite power over you, and then there's a day when you turn round, catch them unexpectedly, and they're just weak, nervous people trying to get by with each other.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Haroon (Dad), Mum
Page Number: 228
Explanation and Analysis: