A loss of faith
A loss of faith
Anthologies are usually a daunting affair. Sometimes they can even be logic-defying, especially when they compile just one form of the oeuvre of a prolific writer such as Hanif Kureishi who, at 56, is far from the end of his literary career. Even more surprising, there is little value addition in this new anthology of Kureishi’s short fiction, besides eight new stories.
Without that perspective, Collected Stories makes for uneven reading, even as it indicates a honing of interests and styles. Some of the early stories—the volume Love in a Blue Time was published in 1997—can seem dated, but this collection also contains the prescient My Son the Fanatic, that spare, apocalyptic study of the radicalization of a young Muslim man. Unlike the fanciful The Tale of a Turd or the laboured D’Accord Baby, it’s a story that can be immediately identified with Kureishi in subject matter—the father-son relationship is central to his thought till today—as well as the laconic, almost offhand style.
One of the new stories, the chilling Weddings and Beheadings, invites instant comparison with My Son…, not necessarily in a flattering way. In a decisively post-9/11 world, the unnamed narrator in an unnamed city is an aspiring film director compelled to video-record beheadings for a living. Three pages long, the enthralling subject is undermined by the treatment. Kureishi is always economical with his words, but here he seems almost disinterested.
“When it is done, he rubs and kisses her sore hands. She looks away." But later, “She turns to him and strokes his arm.
“‘Are you OK?’ he says.
“She smiles at him. ‘Yes.’"
This is Kureishi at his best, the master of the momentary unsaid. There’s a chance the best may get a bit lost in an anthology this size, but the search is worth the reading.
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