Parvez’s son Ali is behaving strangely: he’s broken up with his English girlfriend, begun giving away his possessions and abandoned his accountancy course. But why? Could it be drugs - or something more insidious…
Hanif Kureishi’s short story My Son the Fanatic is perhaps less shocking today than it was at the time it was published in 1996 - 9/11 really brought Islamic fundamentalism to the forefront of the world’s consciousness but five years earlier, it was probably relatively unknown. It’s still a decent story and a glimpse into the heartbreak religious extremism inflicts on its adherents’ families and not just the other victims it more overtly targets.
It’s interesting that the older character, Parvez, is much more relaxed about adopting the culture of his new home, Britain, while the younger character, Ali, reacts by becoming more like the culture he is descended from but not born into. You might expect the older to be more traditional and the younger more progressive.
Kureishi is subtle in implying the romance Parvez is entertaining with Bettina, with whom he has a closer relationship than his own wife, although the “prostitute with a heart of gold” is a bit of a cliche.
The story felt like it was missing a couple of parts. I was hoping to meet the Mullah who converted Ali and I was left waiting to see what would happen next after that quite sudden ending. It’s a short story but it still felt too short and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Still, My Son the Fanatic is a fine short story by Hanif Kureishi - well-written, compelling while I was reading it, and the subject matter has only become more relevant in time. I suppose it’s a credit to the strength of Kureishi’s storytelling that he left me wanting more but at the same time what we got doesn’t feel substantial enough to be the better short story it could’ve been.
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