The Colour of Home
On sale
5th February 2026
Price: £25
Genre
‘A remarkable story of resilience and ambition, brimming with love for his family’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Crammed with incident – arranged marriages, savage beatings , boys behaving badly. I never imagined it would make me blub’ GUARDIAN
‘Striking, surprising, brutally honest’ RORY STEWART
‘A gripping and unique coming-of-age story’ ANDREW MARR
‘Run, Paki, Run.’
The words ricocheted off the walls of the Rochdale underpass that connected Sajid Javid’s home and primary school. Even as a five-year-old boy, he had learned that 70s Britain could be a cruel and violent place for those seen as outsiders.
Leaving behind the devastation of Partition, Sajid’s father moved from Punjab to the UK in the 60s. The family held on to many of their Indo-Pakistani traditions, setting them apart and often leading to rejection by their new neighbours.
In this tender but powerful memoir, Sajid Javid shares his story of a childhood marked by poverty, racism and the tension produced by trying to conform to two cultures. These led to run-ins with the police, trouble at school and eventually the risk of estrangement from his family by defying their wish for his arranged marriage in favour of choosing the woman he loved . With each new trial, Sajid learned to dig his heels in further, speaking up for himself and stubbornly refusing to accept the limits that seemed imposed by his background.
Told with honesty, heart and humour, The Colour of Home charts Sajid’s remarkable rise from adversity to the heart of British life. It is a story of hope, determination and survival – a tribute to the parents who gave everything and the brothers who struggled alongside him – and an invitation to every ‘outsider’ to keep going and dream big.
‘Gripping . . . enjoyable’ AMOL RAJAN, BBC TODAY PROGRAMME
‘A memoir unlike anything you will read from a politician’ ALAN JOHNSON
‘Important and deeply moving’ MISHAL HUSAIN
‘A startling memoir that screams with authenticity’ MICHAEL DOBBS
‘Crammed with incident – arranged marriages, savage beatings , boys behaving badly. I never imagined it would make me blub’ GUARDIAN
‘Striking, surprising, brutally honest’ RORY STEWART
‘A gripping and unique coming-of-age story’ ANDREW MARR
‘Run, Paki, Run.’
The words ricocheted off the walls of the Rochdale underpass that connected Sajid Javid’s home and primary school. Even as a five-year-old boy, he had learned that 70s Britain could be a cruel and violent place for those seen as outsiders.
Leaving behind the devastation of Partition, Sajid’s father moved from Punjab to the UK in the 60s. The family held on to many of their Indo-Pakistani traditions, setting them apart and often leading to rejection by their new neighbours.
In this tender but powerful memoir, Sajid Javid shares his story of a childhood marked by poverty, racism and the tension produced by trying to conform to two cultures. These led to run-ins with the police, trouble at school and eventually the risk of estrangement from his family by defying their wish for his arranged marriage in favour of choosing the woman he loved . With each new trial, Sajid learned to dig his heels in further, speaking up for himself and stubbornly refusing to accept the limits that seemed imposed by his background.
Told with honesty, heart and humour, The Colour of Home charts Sajid’s remarkable rise from adversity to the heart of British life. It is a story of hope, determination and survival – a tribute to the parents who gave everything and the brothers who struggled alongside him – and an invitation to every ‘outsider’ to keep going and dream big.
‘Gripping . . . enjoyable’ AMOL RAJAN, BBC TODAY PROGRAMME
‘A memoir unlike anything you will read from a politician’ ALAN JOHNSON
‘Important and deeply moving’ MISHAL HUSAIN
‘A startling memoir that screams with authenticity’ MICHAEL DOBBS
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Reviews
Striking, surprising, brutally honest - a powerful portrait of a remarkable man and historical change
A remarkable story of resilience and ambition, brimming with love for his family
Gripping . . . enjoyable
This is a memoir unlike anything you will read from a politician. Sajid Javid tells his story with eloquence and wit
An important and deeply moving story of one man's origins, and the Britain he has known
A gripping and unique coming-of-age story which is both a slice of British history and a warning about what, if we are divided against ourselves again, could be be coming. Funny, addictive and moving
A startling memoir that screams with authenticity. Sajid was just another kid on the block, doing daily battle with his family's culture and this country's open hostility until he decided to break out of the box. When it doesn't leave you wriggling in outrage, it will drench you in tears and laughter. The finale is heart-wrenching
Crammed with incident - arranged marriages, savage beatings , boys behaving badly. I never imagined it would make me blub