The search for identity in The Black Album

Abstract: Identity is something that is formed through the experiences and influences
that happen to us as individuals throughout life. How a person’s identity is
formed is something that is both interesting and fascinating. Hanif
Kureishi’s The Black Album takes place in today’s Britain. His main
character Shahid is, in his search for his true self and identity, torn
between his fanatical friends, a multicultural interracial love affair and
the historical baggage of postcolonial Britain. The author does not serve
the reader with an easy solution to how identity is found, but more a true
reflection of life itself, and that is what the book is all about. It is
simply and convincingly a realistic account of a person’s search for
identity in today’s multicultural Britain and all the complexity that comes
with it.