The Black Album by Hanif Kureishi Read Free Book Online Page A

courts, kids’ homes, rehabilitation centres, social workers. I tell you, Blacks and Pakis, the people put down, and outside, they generous and loving. My partner – he a Paki like you – he takes me to all kinds of hip apartments in his cool car, full of birds. Keeps saying this place’s too small for him. If you’re not buying nothing, I gotta swing over to him in north London – our new base of operations!
     
    Shahid Where are the racists, Strapper? Just point at their door and we’ll do the rest.
     
Strapper laughs .
     
    Strapper You wanna find someone who hates another race? Just knock on any door. Course I used to be a skinhead, myself.
     
    Shahid What?
     
    Strapper Supported Millwall, see. Me Black mates were always chasing me. One time they tied a noose round me neck and tried to throw me over a bridge.
     

Shahid drags him back into the flat. Frosty atmosphere .
     
    Shahid This is Strapper. Maybe he can help.
     
    Strapper How you doing, Trevor, mate? Respect, eh?
     
    Chad Fuck off! That’s not my truth!
     
    Strapper Just being polite.
     
    Chad ( to Shahid ) What the fuck you bring him here for?
     
    Strapper You a Paki, me a delinquent. How does it feel to be a problem for this world?
     
    Chad ( pushing Strapper ) I’m a solution, not a problem! Diseases like you need sterilising.
     
    Strapper Don’t touch me, man – I got rights too, you know.
     
    Shahid ( to Chad ) He could point out the racists – we’d seize the initiative then.
     
    Chad He can only point to his arse. We got our sister here to think of.
     
    Tahira Chad can be fierce when his blood races.
     
Brownlow rushes in .
     
    Brownlow Comrades! Any sign of the lunatics?
     
    Strapper Not till now!
     
Riaz welcomes Brownlow in .
     
    Riaz We are so happy you received the message and are able to provide support, Dr Brownlow. So many immoral people surround us here.
     
    Brownlow Ghastly – this estate! What has been done to these people! Crimes against humanity. Important to visit wastelands regularly. Lest we forget. Seeing them, one understands a lot. It’s obvious, not surprising –
     

    Riaz I beg your pardon? What is not surprising to you, Dr Brownlow, my friend?
     
Brownlow is leering at Tahira. She moves closer to Hat .
     
    Brownlow That they’re violently in love with beauty. I’ve been wading around, you know, an hour or two in Hades, lost in the foul damp. Breeding grounds of race antipathy – infecting everyone, passed on like Aids. Often wished in my adult life, that I could be r-r-religious.
     
    Riaz It is never too late for higher wisdom.
     
    Brownlow ( apologetic ) Read Bertrand Russell at fourteen. Expect you know him, don’t you, T-T-Tariq?
     
    Shahid My name is Shahid.
     
    Brownlow Of course. Does Deedee only make you watch Prince videos?
     
    Shahid She’s a good teacher.
     
    Brownlow Not a patch on Russell, I bet. Put the deity in his place, Russell. Said that if He existed He would be a fool. God is man’s greatest creation. ( To Riaz .) Surely the act of believing is – of no practical use on these estates, to this class. It – it is – dishonest! Yes, d-d-dishonest! Even the lowest class must decide good and evil for themselves.
     
    Riaz Please excuse me, but you are a little arrogant. First you ask these poor people to believe in the brotherhood of classes. Now, when your Communist dream has been shown to be just that, you set them adrift to think for themselves. You see now how Western civilisation is proving to be a hoax?
     
    Brownlow But this civilisation has also brought us –
     
    Strapper Drugs, mate – and the police.
     
    Brownlow ( ignoring the interruption ) – science, psychoanalysis, a stable political culture, organised sport – at a pretty high level, mind you, e-e-except for England. And all this hand in hand with critical enquiry. Which means steely questions. And ideas. Ideas being the e-e-enemy of religion.
     
    Riaz Why must they be? My dear Dr Brownlow,