Bibliographic information:
Kureishi, Hanif. Gabriel’s Gift. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction. 2001. ISBN0-7432-1711-X
Plot Summary:
Gabriel’s father is a burned out rock musician who never quite made it, and his mother is an ex-costume designer for rock bands. Gabriel is 15 and is an artist, who also wants to make a film. Gabriel had been in trouble and was living in a drug house selling drugs when his father came and rescued him. His father has constant problems with keeping a job and generally drinks too much and smokes too much. Gabriel’s mother kicks his father out and Gabriel is caught between them. His mother starts working as a waitress and dating younger men, and his father is down and out and begins to get depressed over his failures in life.
Lester Jones, a famous musician who his father used to play with, meets with Gabriel and his father. Jones draws a piece of art and gives it to Gabriel. The picture may answer many of the family’s problems because of its value. Gabriel’s dad and mom both want it for themselves and Gabriel wants to keep it for himself. So Gabriel makes copies and gives them to his parents without them suspecting. His father sells his copy to a Hard Rock Cafe-like restaurant owned by Speedy, a friend of Gabriel’s parents. Speedy eventually gets Gabriel’s father a job as a freelance music teacher. Gabriel’s father lacks enthusiasm, but Gabriel forces him to go to work where he learns to love being a music teacher. The parents start to speak with one another and eventually get back together. Gabriel’s father has contacts that allow Gabriel to get the camera and equipment he needs to begin filming. Gabriel is ready to begin fulfilling his dream.
Critical Evaluation:
The characters in this work are much of the charm. The washed out old rockers and the artistic Gabriel are very unique. The storyline is alright, but it seems like it has a very strange flow. The story starts out with elements of magic and the writer decides that he does not want to take that route and decides to end with a very realistic, if a bit anticlimactic, ending. Some of the plot was confusing and the pace seemed real slow. There is a bit of British English slang that an American reader might have some trouble getting around, but not too much. The book contains a number of controversial items, and the writer almost goes through these in an off-handed fashion as if things like drug use are no big deal.
Reader’s Annotation:
Gabriel is given a gift which throws his life into turmoil as his ex-rocker parents try to influence him into giving it up. Gabriel has his own ideas about the gift, which bring about changes in all of their lives and allows him to pursue his own dream.
Information about the author:
Hanif Kureishi CBE was born in 1954 in London, England to a Pakistani father and an English mother. Kureishi spent his childhood in London and went on to study philosophy earning a degree in that field from Lancaster University. He has done extensive work as a playwright, filmmaker, novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter, all fields in which he has won distinction.
Kureishi is a Commander in the Order of the British Empire, which he became in 2008. He is also a Whitbread Prize winner, the winner of the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, and an Oscar nominee. Gabriel’s Gift was Los Angeles Times Best Book 2001 and a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book 2001. Kureishi lives in England, is married, is the father of twin sons, and has a pet parrot.
Genre:
Coming of age
Booktalking Ideas:
1. Discuss the trouble that Gabriel’s gift brings to him and his family and the way it is handled.
2. Focus on the tolerant atmosphere in which Gabriel is raised and how his parents are almost like children.
3. Center the talk on Gabriel’s artistic side and how it plays into the development of the plot.
Reading Level/Interest Age:
15+
Challenge Issues:
Drug and alcohol use/Sex
Challenge Defense Ideas:
1. Read the book.
2. Be Familiar with the policy of the ALA and your institution.
3. Make a note of the contents of the work and how they fall in with the collection development policy of your institution and the standpoint of the ALA.
4. Gain an awareness of the awards, reviews, and criticisms of the work, as well as other works by the same writer.
5. Know the process for materials challenges at your library.
Why did you include this book? :
I thought that the author seemed like a very interesting and dynamic artist and was drawn to the work as much by him as by the story.
Author’s Website:
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