''Hideous Kinky'' is an

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

novel by

Esther Freud Esther Freud (born 2 May 1963) is a British novelist. Early life and training Born in London, Freud is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and painter Lucian Freud. She is also a great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud and niece of Clement Freud. ...

, daughter of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

painter

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

and Bernardine Coverley and great-granddaughter of

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

. It depicts the author's unconventional childhood in Morocco with her mother and her elder sister, Bella. In 1998, a film adaptation was released.

Plot summary

A young mother and her two daughters travel to

Marrakech, Morocco Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrak ...

, during the 1960s. The mother, Julia, is disenchanted by the dreary conventions of English life, hence the journey. They live in a low-rent Marrakech hotel and make a living out of sewing dresses and with some money sent by the girls' father, an artist in London. Whilst the mother explores Sufism and quests for personal fulfilment, the daughters rebel. The elder, Bea, attempting to re-create her English life, wants to get an education and insists on going to school. The younger, Lucy, dreams of trivial things, like mashed potatoes, but also yearns for a father. Her hopes settle on a most unlikely candidate. The girls match their mother with Bilal, a Moroccan and acrobat; the relationship turns sexual and he moves in, becoming almost a surrogate father. However, Julia's friend encourages her to travel to Algiers and study with a Sufi master at a school that advocates the "annihilation of the ego." As money vanishes, Julia's response is to claim that "God will provide," albeit in the person of Bilal.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, the novel was adapted into a film, '' Hideous Kinky'', directed by

Gillies MacKinnon Gillies MacKinnon (born 8 January 1948, Glasgow) is a Scottish film director, writer and painter. He attended the Glasgow School of Art where he studied mural painting. Following this he became an art teacher and cartoonist, and about this tim ...

Release details

* 1992, UK, Hamish Hamilton , Pub date 30 January 1992, hardback (First edition) * 1992, USA, Harcourt , Pub date 1 July 1992, hardback * 1993, UK, Penguin Books , Pub date 25 February 1993, paperback * 1998, USA, W.W. Norton , Pub date ? April 1998, paperback * 1999, UK, CSA Word , Pub date ? January 1999, Audio book cassette (narrated by Esther Freud) * 1999, USA, ScreenPress Books , Pub date 11 March 1999, paperback (Film screenplay)

External links

* * {{cite web , url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2008/sep/16/esther.freud , title= Guardian book club: Esther Freud , format= Podcast , date= Sep 16, 2008 , first= John , last= Mullan 1992 British novels British autobiographical novels English novels British novels adapted into films Novels set in Morocco Novels set in the 1960s 1992 debut novels Hamish Hamilton books