My Son the Fanatic by Hanif Kureishi

Innledning
Hanif Kureishi, a British author, penned the short-story "My Son the Fanatic." Raised in England during the 1950s and 1960s, Kureishi's mixed heritage - his father was a Pakistani immigrant and his mother was English - greatly influenced his work.

As a philosophy student, he started writing novels at a young age. His writing often explores the challenges faced by immigrants in their new country, particularly the struggle to find a sense of belonging.

Kureishi is known for several renowned scripts and novels, including "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "The Buddha of Suburbia."

Utdrag
The story appears to be set in a not-too-distant past, evident from the use of video games and computers alongside video tapes, which suggests that it may be set in the late 20th century.

The setting is a middle-class suburb city where the main characters, Parvez and Ali, reside. It is apparent that the neighborhood is home to many immigrants, as Parvez mainly works with people from his own country.

Parvez, the father, is an immigrant from South-Asia and has been living in England for at least two decades, as he has been working as a taxi-driver there for that long.

He is a Punjabi and married, but it is unclear whether his wife is English or not. He seems to have a level of control over his wife, as he orders her to sit down and keep quiet.

The story is narrated from a third person's perspective, suggesting that someone is observing the events from the outside. Parvez's son, Ali, experiences a change in behavior that his father finds alarming.

Rather than discussing this with his wife, Parvez confides in his English prostitute friend, Bettina, who he has befriended while working as a taxi-driver. Parvez and Bettina's relationship appears to be close, with hints that it may be deeper than they let on.

This is evident from phrases such as "Bettina put her arms around him" and "As Bettina rubbed his head, Parvez told her..." Parvez's nervousness escalates when he tells his colleagues at the taxi-driver office about his son's sudden interest in religion, and they become unusually silent.