My Son the Fanatic [Paperback]

Hanif Kureishi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998

Set in a northern industrial town, this screenplay presents the dismay experienced by a Pakistani father when his son rejects the material possessions and values he has slaved all his life for and embraces a fundamentalist sect of Islam.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571192343
• ISBN-13: 978-0571192342
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,787,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The struggle for acceptance by an immigrant, February 5, 2002

By 

M. A. ZAIDI "Ali Zaidi" (Karachi; Pakistan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Son the Fanatic (Paperback)

My Son the fanatic is a short story of an immigrant from Pakistan. The underlying theme of this novel is the struggle of the asian immigrants face in an alien society which refuses to accept them, treat them as equals and the ways in which they deal with the alienation. There is a sharp contrast in the way Pervez and his son Farid deal with the sense of belonging and being a part of society.

With all the compromises and loses Pervez suffers in his migration; he appears to take them as a part of his experience and adventure of life; to him it seems to be worth the price. He mentions how better his life has been in comparison to having stayed back. He refuses to acknowledge the cold behavior of the local British.

His son Farid on the other hand seems to have considerable anger and is not disillusioned by the British cold behavior. He finds the society constraining, limiting and degrading and feels to be a victim in his country. Having been excluded he is tempted to exclude others. He finds comfort with his own people and gets attached towards Islam. Having been brought up in secular Britan , he would turn the to a form of belief that denies him the pleasure of society in which he lived. Having devoted his life to pleasure: the pleasure of sex, music, alcohol and friends; he detracts and spends time in abstinence; for in abstinence he felt strong.

Hanif in his short novel has touched the conflicts a lot of asian families feel having migrated to a foreign country. He has outlined the characters brilliantly and this is most certainly a very entertaining novel to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WHO IS THE FANATIC?, January 18, 2000

By 

Rene Kistmacher-Erich-Brost-Berufskolleg (Essen,Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Son the Fanatic (Paperback)

My oppinion is that this story shows the real life of many Father-Son-Relationships. In this story are shown many different Problems. For Example: Father-Son-Conflict,Problems for immigrants or living with an other culture. The story is written very good and I think many people can identify with this story. In Germany I think there are not so many people who know this Problems. This story can informate people about the problems which many other people have.

2.0 out of 5 stars A FATHER-SON CONFLICT, January 18, 2000

By 

Danielle und Kerstin - Erich-Brost-Berufskolleg (Essen, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Son the Fanatic (Paperback)

We think that the story wants to show the problems between father and son, because of different attitudes and religion. Although it shows the problems of immigrants. At the beginning, the is boring but later it gets interesting. We think that the story is truthful and comprehensible, but we're not interested in this story.