TOURISM. Publisher: Vintage; Author: Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal; Price: £7.99.

An overwhelming sense of a life unfulfilled is the predominant theme seeping from every page of Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal's startling debut novel, Tourism.

Set in the summer of 2002, Dhaliwal's story revolves around Bhupinder 'Puppy' Singh Johal, a layabout and occasional journalist /writer whose only real passion appears to be of a sexual nature.

He has little in common with his family in Southall and despite his love for them, his overwhelming feelings towards them are of scorn and disdain.

Documenting slices of life across every social class in London, Puppy's cyclical quest for fulfilment sees him flitting from friend to friend who, just like him, are constantly searching for some meaning in their lives.

The struggles and sense of a life wasted follow Puppy around as he gets by with the occasional stint of rewriting press releases to review music in order to keep the bills paid, his dreams of making it as a novelist seemingly banished into the ether.

But when he meets Sophie, a fashion journalist and model, he begins to see a different side to London.

The only problem is that all Puppy really wants is the girl who Sophie's cousin is engaged to - Sarupa. Her very presence completely throws his outward cool and charisma, while she always seems to keep her distance - that is until Puppy and Sophie are invited to spend a weekend in the country with her.

Interspersed with an examination of Puppy's harsh family life and continual struggles to fit in, I found that Tourism flowed readily, with both a compelling narrative and believably flawed characters.

Often coarse and brutally honest, Tourism is a truly fascinating examination of race and greed, and Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal is certainly a name I will look out for in the future.