THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA - CHAPTER 6

Hanif Kureishi is a playwright, a screenwriter, a novelist and a film-maker. He was born in Bromley, Kent in 1954. Kureishi's first novel was the semi-autobiographical The Buddha of Suburbia, published in 1990. This book describes Karim's struggle for social and sexual identity, a comic coming-of-age novel and a satirical portrait of race relations in Britain during the 1970s. This extract is taken from chapter six. Jamila's future husband arrives in England, then a party is organized for the meeting between him and Jamila's family at Anwar's shop. It deals with the arrival of Jamila's expected husband-to-be Changez, his integration into Anwar's family an expected son-in-law and his relationship with Karim an expected friend.

Karim, Jamila, Jeeta and Helen drive to the airport to pick up Jamila's husband-to-be called Changez (and "Not-Flaubert" by Karim). He represents the sterotype the typical image of an Indian immigrant who moves over to England. When Changez arrives in England, he is not given a friendly welcome by Jamila. Changez has "a similar grey moustache, two double chins, and not much hair. Not-Flaubert was smaller than me, about the same size as princess Jeeta and had a stomach that rode out before him". Moreover he has a crippled hand. Changez and Jamila don't even speak. Jamila disagrees with arranged wedding and this man didn't seem to suit her even if she was prepared for days to this event, "recently Princess Jeeta and Jamila had been in funeral moods". Jamila is determined to hate him and don't care about him, "Changez and Jamila sat apart, and althought I tried to catch them looking at each other, I can guarantee that not a single surreptitious glance was exchanged by the future bed-mates" or "this could be nothing compared to Jamila's antipathy". For her "marrying Changez would be, in her mind, a rebellion against rebellion, creative novelty itself" but she decided to give it to her father's wishes