Life as a Unicorn, Amrou AlKadhi
Life as a Unicorn, Amrou AlKadhi
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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Life as a Unicorn

Author: Amrou Al-Kadhi

Narrator: Amrou Al-Kadhi

Unabridged: 7 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Fourth Estate

Published: 06/09/2020


Synopsis

A heart-breaking and hilarious memoir about the author’s fight to be true to themself Amrou knew they were gay when, aged ten, they first laid eyes on Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. It was love at first sight. Amrou’s parents weren’t so happy… From that moment on, Amrou began searching in all the wrong places for ways to make their divided self whole again. Life as a Unicorn is a hilarious yet devastating story of a search for belonging, following the painful and surprising process of transforming from a god-fearing Muslim boy to a queer drag queen, strutting the stage in seven-inch heels and saying the things nobody else dares to …. WINNER OF THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 2020 WINNER OF A SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD

Reviews

Goodreads review by Eric on June 21, 2021

Coming out stories will always be an important part of LGBT literature since the way we arrive at a queer identity is a unique journey for every individual growing up in a predominantly heterosexual society. Sometimes I'll idly wonder if we've had enough of them and then come across a tale which is......more

Goodreads review by Kai on January 14, 2022

Now that the dust aka my emotions have settled I can put my thoughts into words. I didn't think this book would make me feel so anxious, but Amrou's struggles and trauma, albeit told with humour, were often uncomfortable to read - which is only fair because "uncomfortable" probably doesn't even begin......more

Goodreads review by Sara on January 13, 2021

Kuuntelin tämän äänikirjana loman alkuun potkaisemiseksi. Life as a unicorn on muuten hyvä esimerkki siitä, että äänikirjapalveluista löytyy muutakin kuin kotimaisia uutuuksia, ukkoin elämäkertoja, dekkareita ja bestseller-selfhelp-ryönää, jos vain jaksaa etsiä. Inhoan sitä, kuinka huonosti äänikirj......more

Goodreads review by K.S. on October 24, 2019

Before he ever dreams of performing drag, Amrou has to survive the isolating life of being different. I received a free copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. This follows the story of Amrou, a boy who was born in the UK, raised in Iraq, before going to school in London, and can't unde......more

Goodreads review by AnnaG on December 03, 2020

Some autobiographies can be very difficult to rate and this one is a classic in that vein. The problem with this book is that whilst well-written, Amrou hasn't done enough to fill 320 pages with interesting content, so we spend chapter after chapter in boring domesticity, making our way through chil......more


Quotes

‘Astonishingly brave and engaging’ Joanna Lumley 'Amazing .. it provides so much nuance to the multiverse of identity’ ‘This book is as rare, fabulous and beautiful as the creature it is named for. A masterpiece of psychology, a major study of Islam and a definitive study of drag, it made me cry, it made me rage and it made me hoot. Full of anger, insight and philosophy, along with some cracking great gags, this is a magnificent and essential document of the twenty-first century. It moved my heart and soul’ Russell T Davies ‘A heartbreaking, healing book. it will make you better' Simon Amstell ‘Amrou’s book is slightly magical, I think. They are a survivor, a storyteller and yes, a unicorn’ Juno Dawson ‘Amrou's story is at times painful, at times hilarious, but always completely resonant. If you've ever felt like an outsider, or caught among several identities, this book is a light in the dark and a soothing balm on the pain of loneliness and alienation’ Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani ‘This is a masterpiece, an incredible emotional voyage, moving, funny, provocative, educational, a book you must read whatever your ethnicity or your sexual or gender identity. Beautifully written by an author whose voice must be heard’ Owen Jones ‘Amrou writes with a confidence and lightness of touch, meaning you will laugh and you will cry and you will see real tender moments in a life fully lived. An incredibly adept writer and performer, Amrou brings to readers an important story unlike anything else you will read for a long, long time, and yet so incredibly universal.’ Nikesh Shukla, author of Coconut Unlimited and editor of The Good Immigrant