The Boy with the Topknot

A Memoir of Love, Secrets and Lies

Format: Paperback
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'Could not be more enjoyable, engaging or moving' Observer

"It's 1979, I'm three years old, and like all breakfast times during my youth it begins with Mum combing my hair, a ritual for which I have to sit down on the second-hand, floral-patterned settee, and lean forward, like I'm presenting myself for execution."

For Sathnam Sanghera, growing up in Wolverhampton in the eighties was a confusing business. On the one hand, these were the heady days of George Michael mix-tapes, Dallas on TV and, if he was lucky, the occasional Bounty Bar. On the other, there was his wardrobe of tartan smocks, his 30p-an-hour job at the local sewing factory and the ongoing challenge of how to tie the perfect top-knot.

And then there was his family, whose strange and often difficult behaviour he took for granted until, at the age of twenty-four, Sathnam made a discovery that changed everything he ever thought he knew about them. Equipped with breathtaking courage and a glorious sense of humour, he embarks on a journey into their extraordinary past - from his father's harsh life in rural Punjab to the steps of the Wolverhampton Tourist Office - trying to make sense of a life lived among secrets.

'I absolutely loved it. Heartbreaking and wonderful. He writes beautifully' Maggie O'Farrell

'Tragic, funny and disturbing. It will challenge you, and may even change you' Carole Angier, Independent

Published in hardback as If You Don't Know Me by Now

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Year Published:
2009
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9780141028590
Number of Pages:
336
Publication Date:
30/04/2009
Publisher:
Penguin Books Ltd
Authors:
Sanghera, Sathnam
Illustrations Note:
30 b/w photographs integrated
Publication Date:
30/04/2009
Place of Publication:
London
Language:
English
SKU:
9780141028590

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