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Wimmy Road Boyz
Not yet published
Expected 28 May 26Winner of the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize 2024
Set over the course of a single, surreal night, Wimmy Road Boyz follows three British-Muslim men in their early 20s who drive up and down Manchester’s Curry Mile, bringing all sorts of baggage with them.
In pursuit of a wild time, these boys don’t yet know that their first night out in so long will also be their last. WIMMY ROAD BOYZ is a blistering story of masculinity, violence and love set over the course of a single, surreal night from a wholly original new British talent.
Set over the course of a single, surreal night, Wimmy Road Boyz follows three British-Muslim men in their early 20s who drive up and down Manchester’s Curry Mile, bringing all sorts of baggage with them.
In pursuit of a wild time, these boys don’t yet know that their first night out in so long will also be their last. WIMMY ROAD BOYZ is a blistering story of masculinity, violence and love set over the course of a single, surreal night from a wholly original new British talent.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 28, 2026
2 people are currently reading
2947 people want to read
About the author
Sufiyaan Salam
3 books6 followersSufiyaan Salam is a writer and former animator from Blackburn. He’s working on several TV & feature projects, and co-wrote the short film MAGID / ZAFAR, premiering in 2025. Wimmy Road Boyz, winner of the #Merky Books New Writers’ prize, is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 30, 2025
OK NGL
I ATE WITH THIS ONE
🚗🚗🚗💨💨💨
I ATE WITH THIS ONE
🚗🚗🚗💨💨💨
April 17, 2026
whewww i am way too fragile for this rn. heartbreakingly beautiful and yet i’m laughing through my tears. so different from anything i’ve ever read
— more collected thoughts
upcoming from @merkybooks - something very, very special
when people talk about how men have it hard and they talk about boys that have been vilified and left behind, they are, of course, often talking about largely privileged white men. the various traumas and pains the characters of Wimmy Road Boyz have experienced could be argued to be universal, yet their specific cultural context — young men of Pakistani descent who grew up in northern England — throws these issues into greater relief
with hyper-intimate perspectives of his three main characters and brief deviations through a wider cast, the author paints a vivid and powerful portrait of what it is to be young and Brown in britain
questions of masculinity, shame, identity, community, power, love, and truth are tackled in a way that never feels heavy handed. each boy is in turmoil, wrestling with an inner darkness he can barely face let alone share, and these rise to the surface throughout the course of one night
naturally, this book goes to some dark places, yet it made me laugh aloud time and time again. the voices are raw and messy (and strikingly real) but the author’s prose is precise. just stunning writing throughout
a magnificent novel, one i hope to see a lot of people talking about, and i hope a lot of teenagers and young people read this
#merkybooks #scottishbookstagrammer #publishing
— more collected thoughts
upcoming from @merkybooks - something very, very special
when people talk about how men have it hard and they talk about boys that have been vilified and left behind, they are, of course, often talking about largely privileged white men. the various traumas and pains the characters of Wimmy Road Boyz have experienced could be argued to be universal, yet their specific cultural context — young men of Pakistani descent who grew up in northern England — throws these issues into greater relief
with hyper-intimate perspectives of his three main characters and brief deviations through a wider cast, the author paints a vivid and powerful portrait of what it is to be young and Brown in britain
questions of masculinity, shame, identity, community, power, love, and truth are tackled in a way that never feels heavy handed. each boy is in turmoil, wrestling with an inner darkness he can barely face let alone share, and these rise to the surface throughout the course of one night
naturally, this book goes to some dark places, yet it made me laugh aloud time and time again. the voices are raw and messy (and strikingly real) but the author’s prose is precise. just stunning writing throughout
a magnificent novel, one i hope to see a lot of people talking about, and i hope a lot of teenagers and young people read this
#merkybooks #scottishbookstagrammer #publishing
May 3, 2026
just phenomenal — and i’m not using that word lightly. unlike anything i’ve ever read, i won’t be surprised if this is on the booker longlist this year
January 9, 2026
BURSTING WITH ENERGY!
I laughed, I cried and I paused so many times, in awe of how incredible each sentence is - devouring it, like a 1kg box of the freshest, hottest and stickiest jalebi. What an incredible story of friendship, family, masculinity and vulnerability (and so much more!!!!) And oh, how Sufiyaan captures the vibrancy and chaotic energy of the Curry Mile!
I laughed, I cried and I paused so many times, in awe of how incredible each sentence is - devouring it, like a 1kg box of the freshest, hottest and stickiest jalebi. What an incredible story of friendship, family, masculinity and vulnerability (and so much more!!!!) And oh, how Sufiyaan captures the vibrancy and chaotic energy of the Curry Mile!
April 28, 2026
this is absolutely incredible and everyone should read this. Sufiyaan Salam has burst onto the scene with this utterly captivating debut and i am in love with every word.
following the story of three Manchester boys through their last night driving up and down the curry mile, the reader is taken on a whirlwind journey into each boy’s life and all their demons.
the most impactful thing about this book is the style. my colleague told me that Salam had said that he never wanted to write a boring sentence like ‘he sat down’ and that immediately made the writing so much more interesting to read. it was poetically structured at points before spinning off into beautiful prose - never over-flowered or over explained, but perfectly done. i love when a writer forgoes standard English rules - i.e capital letters etc - as it gives the narrative a completely different feel, in this case, making it much more conversational and realistic. he is funny, full of incredible wit and his words overflow with colour and emotion. genuinely some epic writing.
the characters of Immy, Khan and Haris were so individually unique and incredibly developed, each had their own voice and personality in my head, their backstories winding through years and years of life, unsaid but seen in between each line on the page. each story made your heartbreak, with Immy as the ringleader of the three. when i started reading this book, i said to myself ‘these boys are going to make cry, aren’t they?’. i was not wrong.
i laughed out loud, i felt their pain deep in my soul, the beauty of their friendship that speaks to all of us. and man, that ending. what a way to break me.
an absolutely fantastic novel, could not recommend this enough. thank you to the publishers (and my work!) for my proof copy of this moving and exciting book, which comes out 28th of May. don’t miss it!!
following the story of three Manchester boys through their last night driving up and down the curry mile, the reader is taken on a whirlwind journey into each boy’s life and all their demons.
the most impactful thing about this book is the style. my colleague told me that Salam had said that he never wanted to write a boring sentence like ‘he sat down’ and that immediately made the writing so much more interesting to read. it was poetically structured at points before spinning off into beautiful prose - never over-flowered or over explained, but perfectly done. i love when a writer forgoes standard English rules - i.e capital letters etc - as it gives the narrative a completely different feel, in this case, making it much more conversational and realistic. he is funny, full of incredible wit and his words overflow with colour and emotion. genuinely some epic writing.
the characters of Immy, Khan and Haris were so individually unique and incredibly developed, each had their own voice and personality in my head, their backstories winding through years and years of life, unsaid but seen in between each line on the page. each story made your heartbreak, with Immy as the ringleader of the three. when i started reading this book, i said to myself ‘these boys are going to make cry, aren’t they?’. i was not wrong.
i laughed out loud, i felt their pain deep in my soul, the beauty of their friendship that speaks to all of us. and man, that ending. what a way to break me.
an absolutely fantastic novel, could not recommend this enough. thank you to the publishers (and my work!) for my proof copy of this moving and exciting book, which comes out 28th of May. don’t miss it!!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Absolutely unreal. Salam is such a cutting new voice on the writing scene who isn't afraid to play with plot, form and his readers' hearts. All the comeraderie and real-life complexity of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting with a cultural anchor at its core, this book hit me like a freight train. I expect to see this book on the bestseller lists next year.
November 24, 2025
Highly recommend. Wimmy road boyz is originally comical, exhilarating and disturbing - making it incredibly fun to read. All while managing to find wholly new ways of hitting you in the gut.
April 23, 2026
4.5 stars
Phew. What a beautiful, human and heartbreaking book. As someone who has grown up around boys like Immy, Khan and Haris, their voices lifted from the page and became very real, very quickly. The writing style took a little to get used to, but added to the overall character of the story. I could tell from the beginning that the book was racing head first towards a disaster, but it still took me by surprise.
Salam has a way of writing that balances humour, trauma and anger all at once. These boys felt real, their unprocessed emotions and trauma were incredibly powerful as was their friendship. A beautiful and immensely impressive debut, serving as a nod to human emotion and masculinity.
(Also, big up Manny rep!!! The references to the north and Manchester were so brilliant).
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #WimmyRoadBoyz #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Phew. What a beautiful, human and heartbreaking book. As someone who has grown up around boys like Immy, Khan and Haris, their voices lifted from the page and became very real, very quickly. The writing style took a little to get used to, but added to the overall character of the story. I could tell from the beginning that the book was racing head first towards a disaster, but it still took me by surprise.
Salam has a way of writing that balances humour, trauma and anger all at once. These boys felt real, their unprocessed emotions and trauma were incredibly powerful as was their friendship. A beautiful and immensely impressive debut, serving as a nod to human emotion and masculinity.
(Also, big up Manny rep!!! The references to the north and Manchester were so brilliant).
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #WimmyRoadBoyz #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
May 7, 2026
Read in a hospital room haze and my neck hurts from being hunched over the screen. So rich and vibrant.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I teach High School age and work with multi-cultural college age students through a non-profit organization. With that background, I loved the dialogue in “Wimmy Road Boyz” for the most part. I found myself laughing at how many times I had heard some of the phrases that will probably have some readers scratching their heads.
The only part of the dialogue that I wasn’t familiar with was those pertaining to the Muslim culture. I have worked with quite a few Muslim students, but they typically do not reference things like in this novel. But it isn’t to the point that it would keep someone from reading the book. You just may not understand some of the phrasing or words used.
Now, the part that did take me out, this novel is drawn out. You could have easily cut 25 pages, and the story would have benefited. Ultimately, the story really doesn’t truly go anywhere until the Immy/Naz story progresses.
There are dynamics among the friends and their lives that are emotional, but do not confuse this book with being at the level of “The Outsiders” by any means.
“Wimmy Road Boyz” is a meandering tale that would have benefitted from being shorter and getting to the point a little bit sooner.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
2.5 stars out of 5
The only part of the dialogue that I wasn’t familiar with was those pertaining to the Muslim culture. I have worked with quite a few Muslim students, but they typically do not reference things like in this novel. But it isn’t to the point that it would keep someone from reading the book. You just may not understand some of the phrasing or words used.
Now, the part that did take me out, this novel is drawn out. You could have easily cut 25 pages, and the story would have benefited. Ultimately, the story really doesn’t truly go anywhere until the Immy/Naz story progresses.
There are dynamics among the friends and their lives that are emotional, but do not confuse this book with being at the level of “The Outsiders” by any means.
“Wimmy Road Boyz” is a meandering tale that would have benefitted from being shorter and getting to the point a little bit sooner.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
2.5 stars out of 5
March 4, 2026
‘Wimmy Road Boyz’ is uniquely written and utterly propulsive, a gritty explosive novel of male friendship, religion and desire. Absolutely cinematic, expertly crafted and, above all else, completely captivating.
Though a certain range of intensity runs throughout the novel, Salam most impressively, with his playful narrative structure (think scripts, peppered poetry and interviews) retained my piqued interest throughout. Never once did I bore of the many question marks hanging above the charming cast of characters heads. This intensity only propels you further, deeper into a knowingly tragic spiral of events.
There are many moments in ‘Wimmy Road Boyz’ where philosophy, whether that be on desire vs love, security and masculinity or race, take place on a cultural stage you don’t often see taking centre stage. A distilled population of South Asian and Middle Eastern residents to Rusholme, Manchester. This book reminded me why reading is so special, and so important. To bear witness to other people’s lives and experiences unfolding before you.
I just absolutely loved my time reading this novel, and will absolutely be looking forward to any future novels Sufiyaan Salam may wish to publish.
Though a certain range of intensity runs throughout the novel, Salam most impressively, with his playful narrative structure (think scripts, peppered poetry and interviews) retained my piqued interest throughout. Never once did I bore of the many question marks hanging above the charming cast of characters heads. This intensity only propels you further, deeper into a knowingly tragic spiral of events.
There are many moments in ‘Wimmy Road Boyz’ where philosophy, whether that be on desire vs love, security and masculinity or race, take place on a cultural stage you don’t often see taking centre stage. A distilled population of South Asian and Middle Eastern residents to Rusholme, Manchester. This book reminded me why reading is so special, and so important. To bear witness to other people’s lives and experiences unfolding before you.
I just absolutely loved my time reading this novel, and will absolutely be looking forward to any future novels Sufiyaan Salam may wish to publish.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
1.5⭐️
pros ✅
- conceptually interesting, i liked that it was all set over the course of one evening
- appreciated the mixed media, bits of script, poetry, the imagined interviews with the guardian were fun
- the plot with immy / naz / pakeeza (that only really came to fruition in the last 75 pages) was the highlight
cons ❌
- i was reading this for A WHOLE WEEK. this felt like fucking ages. i was at no point reaching for it and was consistently prioritising other hobbies
- terrible pacing
- i didn’t gel with the writing style at all, it was far too rambly and full of specific slang that i couldn’t focus or follow what was going on really. i do think that someone else could potentially really love this book because of the style, but it just didn’t work for me
- too many POVs
- at no point did i feel like i got “in” to it
- my overwhelming feeling was that of boredom
- so relieved to be done with it
pros ✅
- conceptually interesting, i liked that it was all set over the course of one evening
- appreciated the mixed media, bits of script, poetry, the imagined interviews with the guardian were fun
- the plot with immy / naz / pakeeza (that only really came to fruition in the last 75 pages) was the highlight
cons ❌
- i was reading this for A WHOLE WEEK. this felt like fucking ages. i was at no point reaching for it and was consistently prioritising other hobbies
- terrible pacing
- i didn’t gel with the writing style at all, it was far too rambly and full of specific slang that i couldn’t focus or follow what was going on really. i do think that someone else could potentially really love this book because of the style, but it just didn’t work for me
- too many POVs
- at no point did i feel like i got “in” to it
- my overwhelming feeling was that of boredom
- so relieved to be done with it
Review of advance copy received from Indie Reviewers
I'm literally still processing my feelings. This really has been unlike any other reading experience I have ever had!
I read 'Wimmy Road Boyz' in about 3 days (despite the book's page length, it goes by VERY quick) and felt that all the characters were so realistic and nuanced and hilarious that they continued to live inside my head as I carried on my life. As a man in my 20s, I have to say it is exceedingly rare to see our conversations, emotions and madnesses expressed in such a brutally honest, real, and funny way.
What most impressed me is that despite the characters being British Muslim and from Manchester (a city I have shamefully never been to, though I will definitely be going on a pilgrimage to the curry mile now!), this book feels completely universal and hauntingly original. There is literally an Oasis "it's Wonderwall" parody half way through, a scene where a mosque preacher who delivers treatises through hip-hop freestyles, and a whole chapter where basically the protagonist is just peeing on a street corner and somehow it's HEARTBREAKING ???
And then the ending... my god, the ending. I won't say anything else apart from strap in. This is an author who loves to write heartbreaking emotional endings (I just saw his short film Majid Zafar on Channel 4 and... DAMN! My heart is not over THAT either...).
I have a massive tbr pile but I can't wait to read this again - every sentence is packed with so much energy and meanings I feel like I'll literally gain so much from going back to this again. Merky are proving themselves to be the most exciting publisher in the UK right now and I cannot wait to see what they and Salam have on offer next!
I read 'Wimmy Road Boyz' in about 3 days (despite the book's page length, it goes by VERY quick) and felt that all the characters were so realistic and nuanced and hilarious that they continued to live inside my head as I carried on my life. As a man in my 20s, I have to say it is exceedingly rare to see our conversations, emotions and madnesses expressed in such a brutally honest, real, and funny way.
What most impressed me is that despite the characters being British Muslim and from Manchester (a city I have shamefully never been to, though I will definitely be going on a pilgrimage to the curry mile now!), this book feels completely universal and hauntingly original. There is literally an Oasis "it's Wonderwall" parody half way through, a scene where a mosque preacher who delivers treatises through hip-hop freestyles, and a whole chapter where basically the protagonist is just peeing on a street corner and somehow it's HEARTBREAKING ???
And then the ending... my god, the ending. I won't say anything else apart from strap in. This is an author who loves to write heartbreaking emotional endings (I just saw his short film Majid Zafar on Channel 4 and... DAMN! My heart is not over THAT either...).
I have a massive tbr pile but I can't wait to read this again - every sentence is packed with so much energy and meanings I feel like I'll literally gain so much from going back to this again. Merky are proving themselves to be the most exciting publisher in the UK right now and I cannot wait to see what they and Salam have on offer next!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
2.5 Had a certain charm.
March 24, 2026
In need of a white bimmer, some zoots, and my day ones asap
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews