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Northern Boy

A big Bollywood dream. A small-town chance.
By Iqbal Hussain
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Brief Description
Billy Elliot meets Bend It Like Beckham in this unforgettable debut about aiming high and defying expectation—the perfect uplifting read this year. Joyful, defiant and dazzling, this is the story of Rafi Aziz, a Northern boy dreaming of his name up in lights. It's 1981 in... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Billy Elliot meets Bend It Like Beckham in this unforgettable debut about aiming high and defying expectation—the perfect uplifting read this year.

Joyful, defiant and dazzling, this is the story of Rafi Aziz, a Northern boy dreaming of his name up in lights.

It's 1981 in the suburbs of Blackburn, and as Rafi's mother reminds him daily, the family moved here from Pakistan to give him the best opportunities. But Rafi longs to follow his own path. Flamboyant, dramatic and musically gifted, he wants to be a Bollywood star.

Twenty years later, Rafi is flying home from Australia for his best friend's wedding. He has everything he ever wanted: starring roles in musical theatre, the perfect boyfriend and freedom from expectation. But returning to Blackburn is the ultimate test: can he show his true self to his community?

Navigating family and identity from boyhood to adulthood, as well as the changing eras of ABBA, skinheads and urbanisation, Rafi must follow his heart to achieve his dreams.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781800183148

Publisher: Boundless Publishing Group Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 June 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Boundless Publishing Group Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 368

Collections

Education & Reference Fiction General Fiction Iqbal Hussain LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction

About the Author

Iqbal Hussain is a writer from Blackburn, Lancashire and he lives in London. His work appears in various anthologies and on websites including The Willowherb Review, The Hopper and caughtbytheriver. He is a recipient of the inaugural London Writers' Awards 2018 and he won Gold in the Creative Future Writers' Awards 2019. In 2022, he won first prize in Writing Magazine's Grand Flash competition and was joint runner-up in the Evening Standard Short Story Competition. In 2023, his story 'I'll Never Be Young Again' won first prize in the Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature short story competition. He was also Highly Commended in the Emerging Writer Award from The Bridge Award.

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