My Son the Fanatic

This study guide can help you analyse the short story “My Son the Fanatic” by Hanif Kureishi. In addition to providing help with your analysis and interpretation, the guide contains a summary of the text and ideas for putting it into perspective.

Presentation of the text

Title: “My Son the Fanatic” (1994)
Author: Hanif Kureishi
Genre: Short story

Hanif Kureishi (b. 1954) is a British author and filmmaker. His mother was British and his father was from Pakistan, but Kureishi was born in London. In 2008, The Times included him in a list of the best British authors since 1945.

The short story “My Son the Fanatic” was first published in The New Yorker in 1994. In 1997, it was republished in the short story collection Love in a Blue Time. It has also been adapted into a movie.

The short story focuses on a clash of cultures between a father and his son, who are both immigrants in England.