Fatima's Scarf (Paperback, New edition)

A scathing satire on the storm surrounding the publication of The Satanic Verses, this first appeared in hardback in 1998, having been rejected by 25 British publishers so that the author resorted to self-publication. Caute is more interested in argument than characterization, but the opening sequence, centring on the publication of a blasphemous work, The Devil: An Interview by Gamal Rahman, draws a powerful portrait of Muslims in the north of England. There are no likeable people in this book. Rahman is a flashy publicity seeker; the Muslim leaders are insincere and on the make. Even Fatima, the spotty schoolgirl who causes controversy by insisting on wearing the hijab to assembly, does not gain our sympathy. Caute is a serious writer, discussing an important issue. He deserves an audience. (Kirkus UK)

From his earliest years, Gamal Rahman was a troublemaker. Born in Cairo, the son of a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Gamal began life by killing his mother in childbirth. As a journalist and tutor to the amorous daughters of President Sharaf, he found his vocation; the literary murder of presidents and princesses. Hostile to Islamic fundamentalism, Gamal finally extended his hitman's contract to God the ultimate literary commission.

By the time The Devil: An Interview is published, Gamal is living in exile in England. Publicly damned and burned by incensed Muslims in the Yorkshire city of Bruddersford, his book generates communal upheaval. Racial tensions erupt. The local Labour Party becomes fiercely embroiled and long-standing alliances are shattered.

Nasreen Hassani, trapped between old values and the modern quest for personal fulfillment, can no longer sustain her marriage. Children rebel against patriarchy, and Muslim girls, inspired by the fourteen-year-old Fatima, embark on a bitter strike to defend their right to wear the scarf of modesty in school. While the claims of women fuel the flames, young men embrace the Sons of Allah, dedicated to the execution of the apostate author Gamal Rahman.

What should a writer owe to himself, and what to society? David Caute's new novel is a masterly penetration of the murderous conflict between Islam and Western values -- a novel of major importance for the modern world.

General

Imprint:	Totterdown Books
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	March 1999
Authors:	David Caute
Dimensions:	197 x 133 x 44mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback • Hardcover
Pages:	560
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-9530407-1-1
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	0-9530407-1-2
Barcode:	9780953040711

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