HAOS
Hanif Kureishi talks to Rodqe Glass about why he has finally written the book he has always wanted to write
’ is 1 , anil' Kureishi is nnc til" the ninst prnlilic. H ' ' A radical and atnhitinus writers arnund. He‘s
(l alsn nne til the tiinst niulti—talented. ha\ ing
M?“ started nut as a p|a_\ wright in the I‘)7()s and since
i written nmels. inurnalistn and directed lilnis. lies
I ,9 . . .
- heen husier titan e\'er tn the last lew wars: recent * ' ') prnjects include an iti\'estigati\e. unlilinching ’ nietnnir ahnut his lather (My [fur at His llmrtl a cnllectinn nl‘ essa}s cnxering cwrfihing l‘rnni the latwa against Salman Rtishdie tn the 7/7 attacks (HIV Him! and [/H' RUIN/H. and ltltisl I‘L'L‘Cltli} liic‘ screenpla} l'nr the ()scar-nntninated liltn \i’IHH. which starred Peter ()"l‘nnle as a dirt} nld tnan whn l'alls l‘nr his best friends granddaughter.
While wnrking nn all nl' these prnjects. Kureishi was alsn writing snmething he describes as 'w hat I reth wanted tn dn.‘ 'l'hat became his new HUVCI. Sinner/ting In 'li'l/ )im. He says: ‘I was wnrking nn it l'nr ages. tna}he since NUS. I was gning tn make it a shnrt time! but it wasn't satisfying like that. I wanted tn put mnre material inf \Veren't the man} nther prnjects a distractinn‘.’ ‘.\'n.' he sa_\s. Ver} emphatically ‘l lli\\il}s wnrk in this chantic wa_\. [l I get hnred nr stuck I just mnx e nn tn the next thing. The ideas all l‘ecd intn each nther an_\wa_\. and in the end I wnrked nut what I wanted tn dn with this hunk. Sn 1 went hack tn it.'
The end result was wnrth the wait. l‘ans nl past wnrk such as The BIN/(Illa nt'Su/nu'liiu and The li/uc/t Album will nntice latniliar themes here. Kureishi is a master nl' describing the chans ni cnntempnrar) lil‘e. particularl) multi- cultural. cnniplicated. mndern l.nndnn. but this .stnr_\ cnncentrales pritnaril} nn annther regular Kureishi theme the darker side nt~ line and se\.
‘The fantasy ni the West is that In\ e and sex wnuld exist in the same place.‘ he s;t_\'s. ‘I think that‘s rather a dal‘t ideal. It's as rare as lightning striking twice in the same spnt.‘ The characters struggle with this idea thrnughnut. with the main character. Jamal. searching l'nr hnth lmc and sex tnr a cnnihinatinn nl‘ the twnl exer} where. l‘rnm his e\-wil‘e. In a highl} educated prnstitute. tn the annn_\ mnus ses club he \ isits with his sister.
At times Jamal is running l'rnm lite rather than |i\ ing it. but he dnes haxe a gnnd reasnn tn run. Despite being a successl‘ul ps} chnattahst. he cannnt escape the fact that man} _\ears agn he was partl} respnnsihle l'nr the death nl his girlfriend's lather. an act which he admits tn in the npening pages. Jamal is nnt Ver) sympathetic. like tnueh nt’ the cast here. but this dnesn’t hnther the authnr: ‘lt's ne\ er in} intentinn tn pnrtra} in) characters sympatheticthf he sa_\ s. ‘The clnser _\ntl get tn penple. the madder the} seem — and I like to get close In in} characters.~ Sunny/zine 'Iii 'Ii'll )im. thnugh undeniahl} mad in places. is a tru|_\ impressne hnnk. and ma) he Hanit Kureishi's best HUVCI _\et.
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Hanif Kureishi is in conversation with Rodge Glass, Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Fri 7 Mar, 7.30pm.
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