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The Burqa Master
A Novel play:
The Burqa master is a drama narrating the paradoxical life of an Iranian family exiled in London.
With irony and humour a religious fundamentalist comes face to face with the devil when his son-in-law converts to Buddhism and becomes a vegetarian.
How can he justify the stray dog that has wormed its way into his affections? And what to do with a son who's an unrepentant adulterer? In the end he has to face his own hypocrisy and past crimes, which ends in religious anarchy.
The old man, a diabetic sugar addict is lost between
the mosque and Turkish delight. He shoots up insulin passing from stupor and self-pity to holy fervour, crashing about, shouting sermons and dropping syringes around the house.
His son Hamid, living the Muslim paradise here and now, tries to humour his father by working in the family shop and taking part in the dawn prayers accompanied by Muezzin chants on the ghetto blaster.
But Hamid also has a secret life recruiting female shop clients to sex sessions.
Disguised as a widow in a burqa he gives ‘English lessons’ to these Muslim housewives in the privacy of their bedrooms, while their husbands happily pay.
Hamid rescues a stray puppy. His father declares the dog is forbidden and to chuck him back out in the street, and so begins a daily battle which in the end the dog wins.
The precarious harmony between father and son is destroyed by a series of accidents which
are farcical yet tragic, causing the old man to relive a dark secret buried in his faded memories as he relives his own public flogging for a crime he'd commit again given the chance.
The Burqa master is a drama narrating the paradoxical life of an Iranian family exiled in London.
With irony and humour a religious fundamentalist comes face to face with the devil when his son-in-law converts to Buddhism and becomes a vegetarian.
How can he justify the stray dog that has wormed its way into his affections? And what to do with a son who's an unrepentant adulterer? In the end he has to face his own hypocrisy and past crimes, which ends in religious anarchy.
The old man, a diabetic sugar addict is lost between
the mosque and Turkish delight. He shoots up insulin passing from stupor and self-pity to holy fervour, crashing about, shouting sermons and dropping syringes around the house.
His son Hamid, living the Muslim paradise here and now, tries to humour his father by working in the family shop and taking part in the dawn prayers accompanied by Muezzin chants on the ghetto blaster.
But Hamid also has a secret life recruiting female shop clients to sex sessions.
Disguised as a widow in a burqa he gives ‘English lessons’ to these Muslim housewives in the privacy of their bedrooms, while their husbands happily pay.
Hamid rescues a stray puppy. His father declares the dog is forbidden and to chuck him back out in the street, and so begins a daily battle which in the end the dog wins.
The precarious harmony between father and son is destroyed by a series of accidents which
are farcical yet tragic, causing the old man to relive a dark secret buried in his faded memories as he relives his own public flogging for a crime he'd commit again given the chance.
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 29, 2012
The Burqa Master by Cid Andrenelli
Satire at its finest mixed with a handful of Persian saffron spice
The Burqa Master by Cid Andrenelli is a satirical, tongue-in-cheek look at the lives of a multi-generational Persian family living in a cramped apartment in London. The comedy is told in the style of a play with literary elements of a novel. As a film maker myself and also having participated in theatrical productions in the past, I found the read to be quite entertaining.
The characters in the story are colourful and outrageous. From the old man, a diabetic religious man who spews out sermons to cleanse the unholiness surrounding him while his ghetto blaster blares out prayer chants; his son Hamid who devises a plan to make some money and have a little fun which involves wearing a Burqa dress (an outfit that covers a woman from head to toe—only revealing her eyes) while giving private “English” lessons to Iranian housewives; his son-in-law Abbas who proclaims that he has converted to Buddhism and obsesses with all things Japanese; his grandson Hosro who calls him Baba (Dad) and listens to his ranting and crazy schemes; and finally his pet dog Turin (later named Cyrus), an animal he declares are forbidden to have inside the house due to their religious beliefs-- only contradicting himself later when he proclaims that the dog is the only one who listens to him which is why he purchases a dog basket and permanently places it on top of Hamid’s bed. The events that transpire are hilarious at times and sad at others. Although there is humour in the calamity that the old man finds himself in, we find later that there is a terrible event in his life, one that changed his and his family’s life forever causing them to run away from their home in Tehran to England... a secret which he has been keeping from his children all these years.
I truly laughed from the bottom of my stomach (guffawed actually) at the antics of the old Persian man, Turin (or Cyrus) his little most hated (most loved) dog, Hamid the Burqa master, Abbas his wanna-be Japanese converted Buddhist son-in-law and the rest of the characters. The satire in the story reminded me of a favourite old British comedy “On the Buses” albeit with a Persian twist. : ) Cid Andrenelli’s writing is lively and provocative—she mixes humour with cultural and family drama along with a dash of religious parody. I hope that this story ends up on the big screen some day or on stage. I anticipate reading or watching more of the author’s work in the future. I foresee the author producing more of her work in multi-mediums (novels, plays and films) as she has the talent and creativity to do this very well.
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Satire at its finest mixed with a handful of Persian saffron spice
The Burqa Master by Cid Andrenelli is a satirical, tongue-in-cheek look at the lives of a multi-generational Persian family living in a cramped apartment in London. The comedy is told in the style of a play with literary elements of a novel. As a film maker myself and also having participated in theatrical productions in the past, I found the read to be quite entertaining.
The characters in the story are colourful and outrageous. From the old man, a diabetic religious man who spews out sermons to cleanse the unholiness surrounding him while his ghetto blaster blares out prayer chants; his son Hamid who devises a plan to make some money and have a little fun which involves wearing a Burqa dress (an outfit that covers a woman from head to toe—only revealing her eyes) while giving private “English” lessons to Iranian housewives; his son-in-law Abbas who proclaims that he has converted to Buddhism and obsesses with all things Japanese; his grandson Hosro who calls him Baba (Dad) and listens to his ranting and crazy schemes; and finally his pet dog Turin (later named Cyrus), an animal he declares are forbidden to have inside the house due to their religious beliefs-- only contradicting himself later when he proclaims that the dog is the only one who listens to him which is why he purchases a dog basket and permanently places it on top of Hamid’s bed. The events that transpire are hilarious at times and sad at others. Although there is humour in the calamity that the old man finds himself in, we find later that there is a terrible event in his life, one that changed his and his family’s life forever causing them to run away from their home in Tehran to England... a secret which he has been keeping from his children all these years.
I truly laughed from the bottom of my stomach (guffawed actually) at the antics of the old Persian man, Turin (or Cyrus) his little most hated (most loved) dog, Hamid the Burqa master, Abbas his wanna-be Japanese converted Buddhist son-in-law and the rest of the characters. The satire in the story reminded me of a favourite old British comedy “On the Buses” albeit with a Persian twist. : ) Cid Andrenelli’s writing is lively and provocative—she mixes humour with cultural and family drama along with a dash of religious parody. I hope that this story ends up on the big screen some day or on stage. I anticipate reading or watching more of the author’s work in the future. I foresee the author producing more of her work in multi-mediums (novels, plays and films) as she has the talent and creativity to do this very well.
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
November 6, 2012
Mad, Magnificent, and acutely observed east-meets-west story.
November 26, 2012
This is a marvelous experimental fiction, which combines fast paced theatre dialogue with prose poetry and passages written in stream of conciousness. The writer has been extremely brave breaking with traditional formats and mixing them into an exciting series of scenes.
Unlike the traditional novel, this will keep you on your toes, the novel leads you through a strange and wild journey with twists and turns into the past and present, revealing dreams and fluid poetry entwined with narrative. I highly recommend.
Unlike the traditional novel, this will keep you on your toes, the novel leads you through a strange and wild journey with twists and turns into the past and present, revealing dreams and fluid poetry entwined with narrative. I highly recommend.
October 23, 2012
A great combination of satire, prose and drama. I loved this format, which has play dialogue and novel intertwined.
The story line is brilliant, Hamid's dangerous and immoral exploits come face to face with his fathers hypocritical religious dogmas.
For me the most moving storyline was the growing relationship between the old man and the forbidden dog. The dialogues in particular are hard hitting and dynamic, I laughed out loud many times.
The story line is brilliant, Hamid's dangerous and immoral exploits come face to face with his fathers hypocritical religious dogmas.
For me the most moving storyline was the growing relationship between the old man and the forbidden dog. The dialogues in particular are hard hitting and dynamic, I laughed out loud many times.
October 24, 2012
The author decided to tell the same story two times. The novel introduces you to characters and their secrets, the play brings on stage the reality.
A satirical comedy and contemporary, in which you recognize someone you may know in the characters. A family portrait in fact, to remind that desire doesn't have a morality neither religion.
Go for it !
A satirical comedy and contemporary, in which you recognize someone you may know in the characters. A family portrait in fact, to remind that desire doesn't have a morality neither religion.
Go for it !
October 11, 2012
This novel play is amazing.
It has brilliant dialogue, poetry and narrative, all combined to make a compelling story.
A tale of the relationship between an old man and his son living in London faraway from
Tehran.
The novel is full of paradox humour and satire.
It has brilliant dialogue, poetry and narrative, all combined to make a compelling story.
A tale of the relationship between an old man and his son living in London faraway from
Tehran.
The novel is full of paradox humour and satire.
February 18, 2013
I received this as a first-read book. I enjoyed both the novel-play and the play. The characters come to life in both.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews