Greetings from Bury Park
by Sarfraz Manzoor
Published by Vintage Books (April release)
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Reviewed by Beth Cummings
Bury Park is a neighborhood in Luton, a rough suburb of London that has been the home to many Pakistanis who immigranted to Britain. It was to this suburb that Sarfraz Manzoor’s father brought his wife and family when he had saved enough money to have them come from their Pakistani village and join him in 1974. Sarfraz was only two years old, so his memories of life in Pakistan are not vivid, but he has written with great clarity about the issues surrounding a Pakistani son growing up in England.
Sarfraz Manzoor is now a journalist who can competently describe his feelings as a boy who didn’t quite fit in either with his white schoolmates or his Pakistani family. Where he found his niche, however, was as a devoted fan of Bruce Springsteen and his music. He was introduced to Springsteen’s songs by a Sikh friend from school, and almost immediately fell under the Boss’s spell. Throughout the book he refers to ways that particular songs seem to capture his situation in life. He also made a concerted effort to attend Springsteen concerts whenever he could – including traveling to the U.S. for one shortly after the 9/11 attacks.
The other main focus of Manzoor’s memoir is his father. As a first-generation immigrant, Manzoor’s father worked very hard his entire life to try to make a better life than he would have had in Pakistan. Yet he was a traditional Pakistani in his views of all things British – seeing them as too liberal, thus there was near constant conflict with his children about Muslin values versus white attitudes and actions.
This memoir gives an excellent picture of the lives of Pakistanis in Britain as well as an interesting documentary on how one man’s music can affect another’s life. I found it to be entertaining as well as enlightening and would recommend it to others – particularly those who like Bruce Springsteen’s music and those who enjoy examining other cultures.
Armchair Interview says: This memoir is an excellent example of how music crosses cultures.
Author’s Web site: http://www.SarfrazManzoor.co.uk