What do you think?
Rate this book
East is East
Salford 1970: the Khan children, caught between bellbottoms and arranged marriages, are buffeted this way and that by their Pakistani father's insistence on tradition, their English mother's laissez-faire and their own wish to be citizens of the modern world.
96 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
September 17, 2023
The impetus for reading this is that the National Theatre recently mounted a revival, and the scenes I saw from it (below) looked intriguing. It's a well-made play and as the first one to deal with a Pakistani/Anglo hybrid family, it was rather groundbreaking for its time - and it has aged remarkably well - and is quite funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AkPY...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBA6u...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQSOL...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AkPY...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBA6u...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQSOL...
November 20, 2023
I think I have to like this play, being from Salford and called Ella, but it is also very good. The use of linguistics was clever, and the mapping of binaries provoking and funny. Lots of interesting themes covered, on ‘delicate’ topics, yet were handled directly, through the medium. Felt both rooted in Muslim and English culture, enjoyable read.
September 23, 2022
kinda weird ngl but I was entertained
January 9, 2023
It was alright, had to read it for my English class and therefore it was good.
January 2, 2018
A rather straightforward domestic play, funnier than anticipated.
April 8, 2021
Ayub Khan-Din’s East is East is one of the most significant representatives of Asian culture in British theatre. The play was a great success in 1996 and received many positive critics. In 1999 it was adapted to a film, which won a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film.
The story is quite comic, but at the same time deals with serious themes like identity-crisis and inter-generational conflicts. The plot revolves around a Pakistani immigrant, George, and his family in Salford, Britain in the 1970s. The play depicts what it was like for first-generation immigrants to adapt to a new life in a new country with a different culture and values but at the same time maintain the mother country’s traditions; how the second- or third-generation immigrants are brought up in a family where the parents are from two different nations with different cultural backgrounds, and how their identity is created.
Although the play is a comedy, it is also quite profound. It is an autobiographical play inspired by Khan-Din’s childhood. The playwright even portrayed himself in Sajid’s character, the smallest child in the family.
The play is realistic as it can be interpreted as a social criticism of the British and British-Asian society in the 1970s. Though it seems that the Anglo-Pakistani family is accepted by British society, there are some characters who express their displeasure towards the family. One of the neighbours, a white-skinned English grandfather of a little boy and teenager girl, tries to keep his grandchildren away from the family, but he fails. The girl has a relationship with one of the Khan boys and the little English boy is friends with Sajid. The boy even tries to imitate the Khans, for instance by greeting them in Arabic.
As living in England, George and his half-Pakistani children have to adapt to the white Britons’ culture. The parents run a fish and chips shop in the neighbourhood. It is very interesting that they chose to sell typical and traditional British food in a family enterprise. It is clear that it is because they want to be in favour of the British. George tries to fit in by maintaining his Pakistani roots and exercise those traditions and values. Meanwhile, the children are brought up more like to be English with Pakistani background, and this duality creates a cultural identity crisis within them. Among the 7 seven children, some of them are determined to give up their Pakistani roots and some of them are in between the two identities.
I really liked the story because it is entertaining. It is a parody about the immigrants’ life in Britain in the 1970s, but at the same time, there is a serious and realistic background of the story, which needs to be recognised while reading the play or watching the movie. It is a play that I think everyone should read or at least watch the film adaptation!
The story is quite comic, but at the same time deals with serious themes like identity-crisis and inter-generational conflicts. The plot revolves around a Pakistani immigrant, George, and his family in Salford, Britain in the 1970s. The play depicts what it was like for first-generation immigrants to adapt to a new life in a new country with a different culture and values but at the same time maintain the mother country’s traditions; how the second- or third-generation immigrants are brought up in a family where the parents are from two different nations with different cultural backgrounds, and how their identity is created.
Although the play is a comedy, it is also quite profound. It is an autobiographical play inspired by Khan-Din’s childhood. The playwright even portrayed himself in Sajid’s character, the smallest child in the family.
The play is realistic as it can be interpreted as a social criticism of the British and British-Asian society in the 1970s. Though it seems that the Anglo-Pakistani family is accepted by British society, there are some characters who express their displeasure towards the family. One of the neighbours, a white-skinned English grandfather of a little boy and teenager girl, tries to keep his grandchildren away from the family, but he fails. The girl has a relationship with one of the Khan boys and the little English boy is friends with Sajid. The boy even tries to imitate the Khans, for instance by greeting them in Arabic.
As living in England, George and his half-Pakistani children have to adapt to the white Britons’ culture. The parents run a fish and chips shop in the neighbourhood. It is very interesting that they chose to sell typical and traditional British food in a family enterprise. It is clear that it is because they want to be in favour of the British. George tries to fit in by maintaining his Pakistani roots and exercise those traditions and values. Meanwhile, the children are brought up more like to be English with Pakistani background, and this duality creates a cultural identity crisis within them. Among the 7 seven children, some of them are determined to give up their Pakistani roots and some of them are in between the two identities.
I really liked the story because it is entertaining. It is a parody about the immigrants’ life in Britain in the 1970s, but at the same time, there is a serious and realistic background of the story, which needs to be recognised while reading the play or watching the movie. It is a play that I think everyone should read or at least watch the film adaptation!
July 31, 2022
If you are an Indian or a Pakistani, it could be extremely triggering. However, I did enjoy the play very much. It addresses multiple issues that are prevalent even today.
October 17, 2025
A bold, compassionate masterpiece that challenges prejudice and celebrates the messy beauty of identity.
East is East by Ayub Khan-Din is a searing, darkly comic exploration of family, faith, and fractured belonging. Set in 1970s Salford, it follows a British Pakistani household caught between cultures, expectations, and the aching need to be understood. With razor-sharp dialogue and moments of aching tenderness, Khan-Din crafts a narrative that refuses to simplify—offering instead a deeply human portrait of what happens when love, tradition, and identity collide.
What makes this play so enduring is its moral clarity. It doesn’t preach, but it does provoke. It reminds us that no country, race, culture, or religion is better than another. Each carries its own wisdom, wounds, and ways of seeing the world. And when we stop competing and start listening, we realise how much we can learn from one another.
The play also confronts the misuse of religion as a tool of control. Islam, at its heart, is a religion of peace—rooted in compassion, justice, and mutual respect. One of the most beautiful verses in the Qur’an speaks directly to the sanctity of marriage and the emotional bond between spouses:
> “And among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find tranquillity in them, and He placed between you affection and mercy.”
(Surah Ar-Rum, 30:21)
This verse is a reminder that love is meant to be gentle, reciprocal, and healing. Domestic abuse is never acceptable, and no cultural or religious justification can excuse it. The play doesn’t shy away from this truth—it exposes the emotional cost of coercion and the quiet strength required to resist it.
Likewise, East is East tackles the insidious power of language. Racist slang is wrong, full stop. It wounds, it divides, and it dehumanises. Khan-Din uses humour to expose its absurdity, but never lets the audience forget its harm. The characters grapple with slurs and stereotypes, often internalising them, and the play invites us to reflect on how casual cruelty can shape a person’s sense of self.
And yet, despite its heavy themes, the play is full of warmth. There are moments of genuine joy, of laughter that bubbles up from the chaos, of love that persists even when it’s messy. Khan-Din doesn’t offer easy answers, but he does offer hope—that healing is possible, that identity can be reclaimed, and that families, however fractured, can still find their way back to each other.
Reading or watching East is East is not just an artistic experience—it’s a moral one. It challenges us to examine our biases, to honour our differences, and to stand up against injustice in all its forms. It’s a story that stays with you, not because it’s comfortable, but because it’s true.
A must-read for anyone who believes in dignity, dialogue, and the right to live freely, without fear or shame.
❤️✨️🕊
East is East by Ayub Khan-Din is a searing, darkly comic exploration of family, faith, and fractured belonging. Set in 1970s Salford, it follows a British Pakistani household caught between cultures, expectations, and the aching need to be understood. With razor-sharp dialogue and moments of aching tenderness, Khan-Din crafts a narrative that refuses to simplify—offering instead a deeply human portrait of what happens when love, tradition, and identity collide.
What makes this play so enduring is its moral clarity. It doesn’t preach, but it does provoke. It reminds us that no country, race, culture, or religion is better than another. Each carries its own wisdom, wounds, and ways of seeing the world. And when we stop competing and start listening, we realise how much we can learn from one another.
The play also confronts the misuse of religion as a tool of control. Islam, at its heart, is a religion of peace—rooted in compassion, justice, and mutual respect. One of the most beautiful verses in the Qur’an speaks directly to the sanctity of marriage and the emotional bond between spouses:
> “And among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find tranquillity in them, and He placed between you affection and mercy.”
(Surah Ar-Rum, 30:21)
This verse is a reminder that love is meant to be gentle, reciprocal, and healing. Domestic abuse is never acceptable, and no cultural or religious justification can excuse it. The play doesn’t shy away from this truth—it exposes the emotional cost of coercion and the quiet strength required to resist it.
Likewise, East is East tackles the insidious power of language. Racist slang is wrong, full stop. It wounds, it divides, and it dehumanises. Khan-Din uses humour to expose its absurdity, but never lets the audience forget its harm. The characters grapple with slurs and stereotypes, often internalising them, and the play invites us to reflect on how casual cruelty can shape a person’s sense of self.
And yet, despite its heavy themes, the play is full of warmth. There are moments of genuine joy, of laughter that bubbles up from the chaos, of love that persists even when it’s messy. Khan-Din doesn’t offer easy answers, but he does offer hope—that healing is possible, that identity can be reclaimed, and that families, however fractured, can still find their way back to each other.
Reading or watching East is East is not just an artistic experience—it’s a moral one. It challenges us to examine our biases, to honour our differences, and to stand up against injustice in all its forms. It’s a story that stays with you, not because it’s comfortable, but because it’s true.
A must-read for anyone who believes in dignity, dialogue, and the right to live freely, without fear or shame.
❤️✨️🕊
July 21, 2019
East is East by Ayub Khan-Din - Good
This is in script format and follows the stage play/film as far as I remember.
It's 1970 in Salford and the Khan's are a mixed race family. Pakistani father, English mother, 5 sons, 1 daughter and a chip shop! The children range in age from 12 to 23 and each is going through a personal battle whether that be against an arranged marriage, hiding studying art not engineering, avoiding working in the shop. All the things you would expect from the times, area and from children rebelling against their parents, mixed race or not!
An amusing play with some serious undertones that was spun out into an excellent film (as I remember it) that also launched the acting careers of a number of tv household names.
This reminded me of growing up in the north west albeit a different mix of nationalities and a different type of shop although I wasn't so keen on reading it in script format. Still it was a nice quick and amusing read to go alongside the more weighty tome I was struggling through.
This is in script format and follows the stage play/film as far as I remember.
It's 1970 in Salford and the Khan's are a mixed race family. Pakistani father, English mother, 5 sons, 1 daughter and a chip shop! The children range in age from 12 to 23 and each is going through a personal battle whether that be against an arranged marriage, hiding studying art not engineering, avoiding working in the shop. All the things you would expect from the times, area and from children rebelling against their parents, mixed race or not!
An amusing play with some serious undertones that was spun out into an excellent film (as I remember it) that also launched the acting careers of a number of tv household names.
This reminded me of growing up in the north west albeit a different mix of nationalities and a different type of shop although I wasn't so keen on reading it in script format. Still it was a nice quick and amusing read to go alongside the more weighty tome I was struggling through.
October 28, 2024
‘East is East’ is a play that takes you into the lives of a mixed-race family. The father is from Pakistan, and despite his 30 years’ of acculturation in England, he can forget neither his Pakistani roots nor present-day Pakistan’s politics, and almost ignores his English surroundings. His wife is English, and though she tolerates her husband's idiosyncrasies for the most part, there is a rebellious streak in her which comes out in her seven children, who have never been in their father's country of origin, and cannot understand why they should be forced into a way of life that seems alien to them.
On the surface, a hilarious comedy, with the language, situations, events and people all adding to the humour, this is a deeply disturbing play about cultural identity and societal norms on growing young adults, and a final declaration of independence by each child according to his preference.
On the surface, a hilarious comedy, with the language, situations, events and people all adding to the humour, this is a deeply disturbing play about cultural identity and societal norms on growing young adults, and a final declaration of independence by each child according to his preference.
November 20, 2023
Ayub Khan Din’s ‘East is East’ is a look into a the cross-cultural relationship between English and Pakistani culture within a family who migrated to Salford. It explores strict Muslim religion and how it is enforced or resisted by the 7 children within the family. My experience with the play is not particularly allowing for a neutral review as I read the entire thing before my lecture on it in the form of a two man show, each covering 4-5 characters, and the entertainment that provided has defiantly elevated my experience with and opinion on the play. It is however highly problematic, there is frequent swearing, domestic abuse, arranged marriage being enforced and racially offensive terminology, all used in a means to convey a comedy in some manners. Overall it was enjoyable though extremely flawed.
October 15, 2023
I read this a month back, and forgot to add my thoughts about it then. It's been a while since I've so enjoyed a play format. The last time I enjoyed it so much was when I read 'All my sons.' This book was lovely because of all the visual metaphors it presented and how well they lended themselves to the format. The humor was so sexy, and the way the locations were imagined. I found myself saddened by the father and how we can become so attached to our dreams and the buds of our ideals that we can't let them evolve and change. Stubbornness. I was happy that this text came into my life when it did, because I am also in the middle of crafting a script.
August 12, 2022
This play is set in 1970 with Pakistani-English family who are trying to find where they fit within the two differing cultures. The siblings all have very differing views on what their futures hold while their father tries to hold in to his Pakistani culture and instil his beliefs in them while clashing with their modern ideas. There are some difficult subjects that are also tackled in this play domestic abuse and racism among them. I would recommend this book.
October 15, 2021
You might have heard of this play because it was also turned into a movie, and it was interesting for me to read because I’ve seen the movie but it’s been quite a while.
It’s about a British Asian family living in Manchester in the 1970s and has a lot of humour and some great cultural representation, so worth reading.
It’s about a British Asian family living in Manchester in the 1970s and has a lot of humour and some great cultural representation, so worth reading.
September 8, 2025
This has got to be one of my favourite plays. It captures brilliantly the experience of immigrant life and living in a mixed family. I’ve always been interested in how social class and social relations are transferred to a new country, how they’re adapted, how they interact with the new culture. And this play shows those patterns so well and with good humour
June 24, 2020
I‘m not entirely sure what I made of this. On the one hand it was an interesting look at the experience of different generations in England, with comedy to help keep it vibrant. On the other hand it was a rather dark look at domestic violence and tensions.
May 18, 2025
A film I watched constantly as a kid. Grateful for my dad who always showed us books, films, music that explored all the different cultures that makes up Great Britain. Very nostalgic to read this, it really is a classic
June 9, 2020
Some lovable characters but maybe the domestic violence hits differently now than it did in the nineties?
June 22, 2020
What age range would everyone think this is appropriate for?
January 4, 2021
Tragedy or farce?
August 4, 2021
Interessant, morsomt og alvorlig om familie som navigerer seg mellom ulike kulturer i Salford på 70-tallet. Tar for seg mange viktige temaer. Jeg likte denne.
October 10, 2022
Read for English. Very interesting play that discusses the topic of identity. Straightforward, direct, and short.
November 20, 2023
I liked this! It was nice to read something more light-hearted for uni but I enjoyed that this still had such hard-hitting ideas. Very much looking forward to talking about this in seminar!
November 22, 2023
i thought it was pretty funny and it had some interesting commentary so all in all a good read.
September 1, 2024
Feels a little dated but I find the characters realistic
June 2, 2025
nice and easy to digest and analyze, intricate nonetheless
December 22, 2025
szkoda, że tak mało ludzi to zna, bo bardzo chętnie posłuchałam większej ilości opinii. wyjątkowo ciekawy dramat, chociaż do niektórych elementów mam …mieszane uczucia
October 26, 2021
It took me a minute to get around the language and it is quiet triggering but it was a good play overall
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews