Manboobs, Komail Aijazuddin
Manboobs, Komail Aijazuddin
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Manboobs
A Memoir of Musicals, Visas, Hope, and Cake

Author: Komail Aijazuddin

Narrator: Komail Aijazuddin

Unabridged: 7 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 08/13/2024


Synopsis

A blazing new talent’s hilarious memoir about coming of age and coming out in Pakistan, moving to America, looking for love, and falling in love with himself along the way

What do you do when you’re too gay for Pakistan, too Pakistani to be gay in America, and ashamed of your body everywhere? How can you find happiness despite years of humiliation, physical danger, and a legion of Brooklyn hipsters who know you only as a queer from Whereveristan? How do you summon the courage to be yourself no matter where you are?

Even as a young child in Lahore, Komail Aijazuddin knew he was different—no one else at his all-boys prep school was pirouetting off their desks, or being bullied for their “manboobs,” or spontaneously bursting into songs from The Little Mermaid. Aijazuddin began to believe his only chance at a happy, meaningful life would be found elsewhere: America, the land of the free, the home of the gays. But the hostility of a post–9/11 world and society’s rejection of his art, his desires, and his body would soon teach him that finding happiness takes a lot more than a plane ticket. Searching for his place between two worlds while navigating a minefield of expectations, prejudice, and self-doubt, Aijazuddin discovered—sometimes painfully, sometimes hilariously—that there are people and places he’d need to let go of to move forward.

Manboobs is a riotously funny memoir of searching for love, seamlessly blending humor, politics, pop culture, and the bravery required to be yourself. Aijazuddin confidently announces himself as an exciting new voice in humor with his moving and charming reexamination of the American dream and our search for home.

“Manboobs is an important story, told with a sharp wit and disarming humor. Aijazuddin has the ability to address difficult subjects with thoughtfulness and honesty, while also making you laugh out loud.”—Moshin Zaidi, author of A Dutiful Boy

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosa on August 01, 2024

This audiobook was absolutely wonderful. A beautiful story about queerness, body image, acceptance and found family, told with wit and tenderness. I really enjoyed this a lot.......more

Goodreads review by Cit on September 01, 2024

Great exploration of queerness outside of a solely white context, hilarious and moving and altogether feel-good.......more

Goodreads review by Rishi on April 11, 2025

If the quote “You hold the paintbrush to your life” were a book — or quite literally, a person — it would be Komail. Manboobs touches so many parts of the human experience: privilege, queerness, love, and best of all, the chaotic beauty of coming of age. As someone who secretly hopes to be a storytel......more

Goodreads review by Paula on November 26, 2024

2.75. Doesn’t really go anywhere. Likeable fellow, but feel like I missed the point he was trying to make.......more

Goodreads review by Anastasia on November 27, 2024

Komail’s memoir is a combination of comedy and tragedy; taking you on a roller coaster of laughter and heartache. His story on coming out in Pakistan is told hilariously but underlying it all is the kind of fear that nobody should have to live through. He is a captivating writer!......more