Summary
Karim adjusts to living with his father and Eva. Karim and Haroon butt heads, particularly over the matters of Karim’s university education. Haroon calls his son lazy and his work ethic “deplorable.” One day, when Karim returns home, he finds that Eva has contracted Uncle Ted to renovate her house. This presents a strange dynamic, as now Uncle Ted is around to witness Haroon’s new contentious relationship.
In Eva’s newly renovated home, Haroon begins to do “guru gigs” once again. Eva uses her connections to get him an interview in some local newspapers, and the business begins to boom. Once Eva’s house has been renovated, she makes the executive decision to move out of the suburbs and into a London flat. Karim decides that he wants to join Charlie’s band, called Mustn’t Grumble, as a rhythm guitarist. Charlie laughs at Karim’s proposition, but offers him the position of the band’s roadie. While working as a roadie during one gig, Karim tells Charlie that he doesn’t have any songwriting talent. The band breaks up shortly after.
Chapter Nine marks the beginning of the second section of the novel, entitled "In the City." The section begins with Karim’s announcement that he has moved with Eva and Haroon to a dilapidated apartment in West Kensington. Karim decides to take Charlie to a bar called The Nashville, where many live bands play. Charlie announces to Karim that he is suicidal, and the two have a self-destructive, drunken night. It is clear that both Karim and Charlie are overwhelmed by their new urban environment, and they feel unable to carve out space for themselves amidst a sea of cool and creative youth.
Eva decides to throw a housewarming party at her new flat. Karim comments on the bohemian guests working across the arts, and it appears clear to him that Eva is attempting to shed her suburban identity. To Karim’s pleasant surprise, Jamila arrives at the party with Changez. Changez admits to Karim that he felt betrayed after he found out about Karim and Jamila’s affair. Changez also tells Karim that he has been disappointed in Karim’s abandonment of his “former friendships” upon his move to London. Karim listens to Changez’s feedback, but he also acknowledges that Changez is a traditional Muslim man averse to free love and bohemian lifestyles. Karim meets someone named Shadwell, who offers to kickstart Karim’s acting career by inviting him to a theater audition.
Karim auditions well, and Shadwell explains that he is perfect for a role he is casting for in an upcoming production. When Karim inquires more, he finds that Shadwell is talking about The Jungle Book. Shadwell grows irritated when he discovers that Eva has not given Karim a copy of the book as he instructed, but Karim realizes it is because Eva is attempting to shield Karim from her friend’s racism. Karim is repulsed by Shadwell, but he is also pleased to be cast in a big role.
The summer changes many things for Karim. He returns to the suburbs to spend time with his mother, and he finds that she has started to rearrange the home into her own. He is proud of her and the positive changes she has made despite the difficulties of her circumstances, and he admires her resilience. Karim begins rehearsing with Shadwell, and the two continue to clash over Shadwell’s insistence that Karim use an accent in his role. Although Karim pushes back on Shadwell’s request for political reasons, he ultimately concedes.
Eva and Karim go to see Charlie, who has become the poster child of the London punk music scene. Karim is more proud of Charlie than he is jealous, and he realizes that they are both accomplishing their goals and dreams. Following Karim’s performance in The Jungle Book, he is approached by an accomplished theater director named Pyke who offers Karim an undisclosed role in his next production. He begins rehearsing, and he workshops a monologue acting as Anwar. He begins to develop a relationship with Eleanor, a fellow actress of a higher social class.
Analysis
In this part of the narrative, we see the evolution of Eva and her relationship with Haroon. Before the novel’s eighth chapter, Haroon was described in exquisite detail. Prior to his separation from Karim’s mother, he played a large role in the story’s action. Karim’s narration provided a sensitive perspective that was in touch with his father’s vulnerabilities, fears, and internal conflicts. However, as Haroon’s relationship with Eva becomes more serious, he is mentioned far less. The audience doesn't learn how he is coping with the dissolution of his marriage and his new partnership. Haroon’s absence in this set of chapters underscores how he is being overshadowed by Eva.
Eva’s decision to move the family to central London is critical to the novel’s development. It becomes clear that Eva is interested in associating with the city’s cultural elite, and she aims to shed her suburban persona. This leads to conflicts with Haroon. Karim begins to notice that Eva’s interests in Indian culture, yoga, and Haroon’s shamanism have dwindled. In fact, she seems to be embarrassed by her partner since his interests are no longer revered in this new landscape. These details demonstrate Eva’s shallowness and social-climbing tendencies.
"In the City" functions as an investigation into the social differences between urban and suburban life in the United Kingdom during the 1970s. In central London, Karim immediately feels more comfortable as a mixed-race teenager. He also grows increasingly aware of wealth, the privilege of education, and the possibilities for social mobility. Although he finds London somewhat overwhelming, he realizes that he has a much better chance to build the future that he envisions for himself. This chance comes when he is introduced to Shadwell, Eva’s friend who is a theater director.
While city life promises cultural stimulation and artistic development, it is clear that racist and classist attitudes continue to prevail. Although Karim is first excited by his opportunity to perform a lead role in Shadwell’s play, he quickly realizes that Shadwell is racist and power-hungry. During the audition and rehearsal process, Karim is belittled and mocked for being Indian. Although Karim reacts with feelings of rage, he quickly concedes to the director’s wishes. When Jamila watches Karim perform the role of Mowgli, she calls him out for perpetuating racist stigmas. Karim seems to acknowledge that Jamila is correct, but he ultimately accepts that he is subject to this treatment as a non-white actor.
When Karim is recruited for a role in Pyke’s production, he witnesses the envy of Shadwell and his fellow actors. It becomes clear that although the communities formed through his theater experiences are strong, they can be riddled with blurry boundaries and toxic dynamics. While excited to act in something more experimental, Karim is once again tokenized as non-white. When Karim workshops his monologue as an exaggerated version of Anwar, his father’s best friend, he receives pushback from a Black actor explaining that his erratic depiction is a harmful form of representation. Ultimately, Karim has a difficult time carving out a space for himself in a predominantly white cultural landscape.
