Aziz has written a compelling memoir about racism, family, religion and discrimination. His family background is Pakistani and he grew up in Toronto (Scarborough and Mississauga). He was an unmotivated student until his last year of high school when he watched Obama speak on TV. He immediately got to work, improving his grades and his language skills enough to obtain acceptance and a scholarship to Queens University. He studied philosophy, and received the Gold Medal at graduation. Aziz received a masters degree in international studies from Cambridge University, then a law degree from Yale. Experiencing racism at each school, he attempted to find his own path and identity. Returning to Canada following Trump’s election, he worked for the federal government in foreign policy, again facing racism. This is a troubling, well-written account of his life, thus far.

Overall, this book wasn't quite what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting, TBH?

It's Omer's story of growing up in Toronto (or Scarborough) and the challenges he faced for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he was the son of Pakistani immigrants. His story follows him from being a child, through school, and on to university. It was an interesting story, though probably not one that I would have typically sought out. There was definitely a pull yourself up by the bootstraps, if you just work hard enough you can achieve anything feel to the book, which I don't tend to agree with. Good for him that he was able to achieve his goals/dreams through hard work, but that's rarely the case for most folks.

Interesting story, though not one that I'm sure many others could connect with.

Such a wonderful memoir rich with Omer’s very personal experiences and life. Definitely the type of memoir I was looking to read!

Delighted to highlighted this new release in “Lived Experience,” a round-up of new and notable memoir and autobiography in the Books section of Zoomer magazine for April. (see column and mini-review at link)

Aziz is currently a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard, where he is working on a project that deals with the rise of the far right and fascism and what that means for democracy. This is his memoir of growing up as a Muslim 'brown boy', the son of working class Pakistan immigrants in Toronto. The book deals with how he got from there to Queens, Cambridge, Yale Law school and then a job as foreign policy advisor to Justin Trudeau and what he learned along the way. It also chronicles the racism he encountered and dealing with is own self doubt. This is a good recommendation for anyone interested in racism, immigration or just other people's stories.

Brown Boy is Omer Aziz’s upcoming memoir. From growing up in Scarborough, Ontario (Canada) to exploring the world and what it means to be successful as an immigrant to his career trajectory, Aziz details a commonly uncommon experience.

Aziz writes about his experience as a first-generation Pakistani Muslim. He writes about finding himself and wandering off the beaten path. Aziz writes about what inspired him to work hard and become successful. He writes about family and how difficult the immigrant experience can be, one shared by many Canadians.

Before reading Brown Boy, I did not know who Aziz was. He is the former foreign policy advisor in the Prime Minister of Canada’s administration. His numerous accolades and achievements are clear indicators of his brilliance and hard work. His triumph in taking his career further than his family could have hoped or imagined for him is rewarding to read.

Aziz’s memoir, while insightful is a tad half-baked. It manages to grip the reader in some parts and distract in others. My stance on memoirs is that they are subjective in terms of enjoyment and entertainment. I feel indifferent in my reaction to Brown Boy.

Thank you to #SimonandSchuster @simonschusterCA @netgalley and Omer Aziz for my ARC of #BrownBoy . The book is available on April 4th, 2023.

Such a great book! His writing is so fantastic - he conveys so much emotion and writes in a very clear and understandable way. His story is incredible in itself, but the prose takes the story to another level. I have really enjoyed reading this title and will be recommending!