"Manboobs" by Komail Aijazuddin is an incredible and eye-opening read! The book offers a unique glimpse into the experience of growing up in Pakistan as a queer man, tackling themes of identity, culture, and the struggles of self-acceptance. As someone who also grew up South Asian and navigated life post-9/11, I found this story deeply relatable. The author's wit, honesty, and warmth come through beautifully, especially in the audiobook version, which he narrates himself. It’s like sitting down with a close friend who's sharing his most personal and poignant experiences.

The narrative blends humor and heartbreak effortlessly, and Aijazuddin’s ability to bring both light and depth to serious topics is truly masterful. His writing is so vivid and engaging that it felt like I was watching a show—one that deserves to be adapted for TV, reminiscent of the charm and authenticity of Everybody Hates Chris or Fresh Off the Boat. This book is not just a memoir; it’s a powerful and necessary exploration of what it means to find yourself amid societal expectations. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a book that is both enlightening and profoundly entertaining!

This book was pretty good, I feel I would like this guy if I knew him. Interesting subjects discussed.

Manboobs is a funny, interesting, and at times devastating memoir. It is well-paced, well-narrated, and the perfect length. I enjoyed getting to know the author through his story.

Thank you RB Media for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 
The audiobook feels like a late night gossip session at a sleepover. It makes you want to pull an all nighter just to continue hearing the stories and wit. As every good late night talk, I laughed, I cried, and I pondered my life. A genuine five star read/listen, one that I will carry with me for life.
Komail Aijazuddin is witty, funny, and completely genuine. A truly dangerous triple threat. I look forward to seeing what else he does.
P.S. Talking to his younger self and thanking his younger self in the acknowledgements might have made me cry, and is definitely a perspective I carry with me as another survivor of trauma (the younger self as separate from the current self).

Personal Stories/Writing: A
Narration: A-
Pacing: A-
Best Aspect: Very truthful and heartfelt memoir. Read by the author.
Worst Aspect: A bit long at times.
Recommend: Yes.

Manboobs is an EXCELLENT memoir from a Pakistani-American man who grew up gay in Pakistan, went to college in Montreal/NYC, moved back home, and tried to live life as a gay man in the ever-increasing religious and cultural pressure in Pakistan. It's a journey through self-acceptance, not only as a gay man, but also as a boy who grew up fat and a man who always has had remnants in various degrees of that weight and how it affected him as both a man and as a gay man in that body-conscious sort of subculture that gay life is.

It's also a commentary on being from a Muslim country, even as non-religious, and living/working in the US after 2001 and seeing what life was like in a country he always idealized not just then, but in the years since then, and the years now after immigrating officially. It's funny, it's insightful, and it's just a good memoir.

And... Aijazuddin's voice is SO nice to listen to for the ~9 hours of the audiobook.

Thank you to RBmedia | Recorded Books and Netgalley for the ALC in exchange for review!

This is a brilliant book book that explores identity- the experiences of being queer, an immigrant, and a Pakistani man navigating life in the US- with the incessant self-questioning that comes with body dysmorphia. I think this book nails down the challenges of fitting into a world that often feels like it wasn’t designed for people like you. I was especially blown away by the narration- it was expertly done and I almost couldn't keep the book down.

Engaging, entertaining, and expertly narrated. A recommended purchase for collections where memoirs are popular.

This was such a wonderful genuine memoir told with a witty semi-sarcastic occasionally dark sense of humor.

A story of a young gay man growing up in Pakistan, living & learning & sadly accumulating bruises of body, mind & spirit along the way. He’s lived & loved & been hurt and shares it all.

“I’ve been in a long distance relationship with everything except carbs for most of my adult life.”

Funny man, lovely voice.

Thank you NetGalley and Recorded Books for an advance copy of this audiobook. I requested this for the cover & title. 4.5 stars

I loved this. It's a "finding yourself" kind of about growing up gay in Pakistan, and then moving to America. It's about identity and being true to yourself. Komail calls out a lot of things he has observed, but these parts are integrated into his experiences, so it operates on the level of larger cultural critique, and his experience. It was a really interesting, sometimes very funny, sometimes very painful listen. It's read by the author and he does such a good job. I listened to this in four days, which is unusually quick for me, but I was very invested in the journey.

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for the advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this memoir, it was very well written and had a lot of humor. I loved his honestly about dealing with self image. I hope he writes more. I loved the death becomes her reference! Thanks NetGallery!

4.5 stars rounded up!

I picked this up because the title suggested a funny, self-depricating memoir. Instead, I listened to a sometimes funny, mostly deep memoir of a gay man growing up in Pakistan, dealing with homophobia, Islamophobia, and fatphobia across multiple countries and continents. He is very transparent with his own internalized -phobias throughout, and this book is sprinkled with many incredibly eye opening and heart warming statements about how no one needs to prove themselves of their worth to others. Aijazuddin moves to New York shortly after 9/11 and gives a very clear picture of what it was like to be a Muslim man at this time, particularly one from an Islamic country who has to deal with visas and interrogations. I was not only granted access to his life through this memoir, but an experience of this world that I had never personally read about.

I had never heard of Aijazuddin before this book (the title was quite intriguing alone) but after reading this I looked up his work. He is an incredibly talented artist, and I hope this book spreads his art further!

Overall I really enjoyed this. I learned a lot, I laughed, and I feel like I have become friends with Komail without having met him (particularly when ch 17 was labelled "ch 17 going on 18") Highly recommend!

The audiobook is read by the author, who has a beautiful, soothing voice. Highly recommend reading in audio format!

Thank you to RBmedia and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The personal journey of an artist growing up gay in Pakistan and searching for his place in the world.

I'm not sure what to say that the book summary doesn't already express perfectly. Komail struggles to find the acceptance he craves in his home country, pinning his hopes on the freedom of the United States. He quickly realizes the US is not the utopia of which he dreamed and faces the long task of creating a place for himself. This book is his memoir of seeking acceptance, success, safety, and love while living his most authentic life.

For the wonderfully evocative cover and title, I expected a little more resolution regarding the author's struggle with body dysmorphia. After spending most of the book building on the self hatred directed at his own body, his self acceptance is only briefly touched on.

The audiobook version is read by the author himself, who does an excellent job! He has a lovely voice and brings his story vibrantly to life. I highly recommend reading Manboobs via audio if you possibly can.

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.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio arc of this book! I like to read memoirs to find out about other peoples' lives and this one was certainly interesting. Komail writes about being a Pakastani gay man with weight issues. I enjoyed his stories and his humor. It is hard to judge how someone else chooses to tell their life story but the "manboobs" part of the story was not my favorite. I am self-deprecating too but it just seemed like a lot and maybe that is because it hit too close to home. At any rate, a good memoir with good narration by the author.

This memoir was good but not great in my view. There were parts of it that I loved, and parts that felt like a more thorough examination could have been beneficial.

The narrator was the author, who has a very distinct voice and a keen delivery for his cutting little comments. I love a mean gay boy who loves musicals as much as the next girl, so I did delight in that at first, but it did get a little wearing.

My main issues were the rampant internalized and externalized fatphobia that the author really never seems to move past or acknowledge as bias rather than just a fact of life, as well as some of the more shallow examinations of various themes. For me personally, I would have loved to hear more about his relationships with his queer friends from Pakistan. I adored the stories of them meeting each other but after those initial scenes, it did feel like they were almost just facts of his life without further analysis. I love a found family narrative so I just would have liked more of that!

I did feel that the author examined coming out/being gay in Pakistan as well as two very impactful relationships, one as a boy in Pakistan and one with a man in London, in a very thoughtful way, and those sections, while often painful, were some the most deeply emotional sections of the book.

Overall I thought this was a pretty good memoir but could have been beefed up/a little deeper in sections, and I think the fatphobia could have been addressed and acknowledged in a kinder way. The author seems like a cool guy with a great sense of humor and definitely someone who would have added both color commentary and a global perspective to Sex & the City back in the day that really would have turned Stanford’s head.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this audiobook!

A funny yet sad memoir about a Pakistani gay man with weight struggles. Some parts of this are transparent descriptions of his traumatic experiences, especially the homophobia and prejudice he has to overcome. He recognizes that homophobia is not exclusive to straight people, fat phobia not exclusive to fit people. This is about belonging versus fitting in. So much of our shame is internalized. This memoir is almost like being a fly on the wall in someone’s therapy sessions. I loved the pop culture references at the beginning of each chapter. I really hate the title and the cover. But the description very much intrigued me. I am still rooting for Komail as he learns to love the man he is.

I listened to the audiobook version, and it is voiced by the author. Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC.