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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Was going between 3 and 4, but the last part of the book really pushed me into 4 territory. I didn't realize when I started this that it was fictionalized, so had to reset my expectations partway through the book. Still a solid read, though
This was not an easy read, felt almost like "work" sometimes, nevertheless it was a captivating story and I kept returning to it for more.
A very well narrated book, showing the difficulties that Muslims and immigrants have as well as first generation americans face. Worth the read!
Biggest takeaway is no one is truly likable in this story but I guess that’s what makes it nearly a true to life memoir. It tells the tale of son in an arts career coming from a specific type of family and does make an empathetic case for them.
This is a story about a first generation Muslim man and his relationship with his father. It’s also about his mother and extended family and some girlfriends and the rich guy who supports his art career, but mostly the father son relationship. It’s kind of a memoir but I guess it’s fiction because we don’t know what’s made up (I’m sure plenty of articles have covered that but I avoided to avoid spoilers).
I listened to the audiobook and it was a very quick listen with well done voices for different characters.
This is a story about a first generation Muslim man and his relationship with his father. It’s also about his mother and extended family and some girlfriends and the rich guy who supports his art career, but mostly the father son relationship. It’s kind of a memoir but I guess it’s fiction because we don’t know what’s made up (I’m sure plenty of articles have covered that but I avoided to avoid spoilers).
I listened to the audiobook and it was a very quick listen with well done voices for different characters.
Wavering between 3 and 4, but decided to round up. I thought this book was pretty interesting, especially the more personal parts about Ayad and his family. The chapter about him getting pulled over in Scranton and the interaction with the mechanic made me so mad. It was such a realistically infuriating story.
The book lost my interest a bit in the parts where he shares his philosophical/academic/political thoughts. He's pretty much cynical about everything - Islam, religion in general, America, Pakistan, etc, etc. I'm not really a glass half full kind of person either, so I get where he's coming from, but it did get to be a bit tiring after a while. I was a little surprised that this book was on Obama's recommended list, because he shares a lot of cynical thoughts about Obama too! (Obama, did you actually read this?)
I also didn't totally understand the genre - so, is it a memoir, or is it fiction? I don't understand how it can be both. I saw some GR reviews say that it's actually all true, but that he had to market it as fiction so he didn't get sued by Trump. If that's the case, that does make me like the book more, rather than it just being some kind of odd mash-up between what's real and what's made up.
The book lost my interest a bit in the parts where he shares his philosophical/academic/political thoughts. He's pretty much cynical about everything - Islam, religion in general, America, Pakistan, etc, etc. I'm not really a glass half full kind of person either, so I get where he's coming from, but it did get to be a bit tiring after a while. I was a little surprised that this book was on Obama's recommended list, because he shares a lot of cynical thoughts about Obama too! (Obama, did you actually read this?)
I also didn't totally understand the genre - so, is it a memoir, or is it fiction? I don't understand how it can be both. I saw some GR reviews say that it's actually all true, but that he had to market it as fiction so he didn't get sued by Trump. If that's the case, that does make me like the book more, rather than it just being some kind of odd mash-up between what's real and what's made up.
I seldom start reading a book as soon as I buy it.
And the last time I stayed up into the wee hours in order to finish a book was in the late '80's, for Scott Turow's "Presumed Inocent". I finished off the last 120 pp of this last night, most of it the lengthy last chapter about his father's problems.
It seems all the readers have an issue with this being called "A Novel" - it is obviously autobiographical, and more a memoir than a piece of fiction. I did read a short interview with him, something about calling it a novel allows him some safety with Muslims. It allows him to say, "But it is fiction, see!"
A first generation Pakistani in America, raised in the Milwaukee area. He works within the text with ideas and writers and politics and economics - as well as his family and his personal life (the sex scenes are rather graphic at times, not for the prurient out there). But most of all it deals with being an American who is viewed by the hegemony as an "outsider". Brown, and assumed to be a Muslim, based upon his heritage. While he presents what is wrong with America, he also presents what is wrong with Muslims, and his own and other ethnic/national groups from SE Asia. At times his commentary on this reads more like an essay than a novel or a memoir, but he also has a gift for writing about the events that lead up to his thoughts upon a subject, and his conclusions, in a flowing manner.
I'll go read some of his plays later, maybe his orher novel as well.
An excellent read - it allows us into the mind of an "outsider", and his love/hate relationship with his homeland (and it IS America, as the powerful last lines of the book make clear), his parents' homeland, and the religion he was brought up with.
And the last time I stayed up into the wee hours in order to finish a book was in the late '80's, for Scott Turow's "Presumed Inocent". I finished off the last 120 pp of this last night, most of it the lengthy last chapter about his father's problems.
It seems all the readers have an issue with this being called "A Novel" - it is obviously autobiographical, and more a memoir than a piece of fiction. I did read a short interview with him, something about calling it a novel allows him some safety with Muslims. It allows him to say, "But it is fiction, see!"
A first generation Pakistani in America, raised in the Milwaukee area. He works within the text with ideas and writers and politics and economics - as well as his family and his personal life (the sex scenes are rather graphic at times, not for the prurient out there). But most of all it deals with being an American who is viewed by the hegemony as an "outsider". Brown, and assumed to be a Muslim, based upon his heritage. While he presents what is wrong with America, he also presents what is wrong with Muslims, and his own and other ethnic/national groups from SE Asia. At times his commentary on this reads more like an essay than a novel or a memoir, but he also has a gift for writing about the events that lead up to his thoughts upon a subject, and his conclusions, in a flowing manner.
I'll go read some of his plays later, maybe his orher novel as well.
An excellent read - it allows us into the mind of an "outsider", and his love/hate relationship with his homeland (and it IS America, as the powerful last lines of the book make clear), his parents' homeland, and the religion he was brought up with.
Loved this. Great first person account of what it was like to be a Moslem in America after 9-11, and the cultural challenges that lasted years after.
Such a fascinating book from so many angles, but not an easy read. The fiction vs nonfiction debate has been well covered by others here so I’m just going to say I imagine it’s a mixture. It reads like essay-format memoir but may be quite a bit of fiction.
I had no knowledge of Akhtar prior to this, but I’m definitely interested in his plays now. He’s a story teller, with a gift for what’s dramatic and interesting in an experience. Overall, the book is a reflection on belonging, not belonging, disconnection and the immigrant experience – though to be clear, Akhtar is American born. It’s a reflection on where you feel at home and why, and a reflection on family. The story of Akhtar and his father that forms the book’s center is filled with drama, pathos, humor, hope, grief, and loss.
It’s also an indictment of capitalism, American exceptionalism and racism and stupidity; and a reflection on how we’ve allowed ourselves to become a nation where each and every thing from Presidents to plastic to whether people have homes and health and education, is defined around Money. A country where we, ourselves, have no value other than what’s defined by money. There’s reflections on the Muslim faith, 9/11 and its aftermath.
But in case that all sounds pretty dense and or depressing, there’s so much fascinating anecdote! Cardiology mistakes! Malpractice! Syphilis! An intriguing millionaire who takes Akhtar under his wing and shows him the lifestyle of the rich and famous! Racist dink chasing our hero around with a gun, because ‘Murica! Cops and why brown people lie to cops! Finding out about his parents’ long ago – and not so long ago – love affairs!
Very well done, and recommended.
I had no knowledge of Akhtar prior to this, but I’m definitely interested in his plays now. He’s a story teller, with a gift for what’s dramatic and interesting in an experience. Overall, the book is a reflection on belonging, not belonging, disconnection and the immigrant experience – though to be clear, Akhtar is American born. It’s a reflection on where you feel at home and why, and a reflection on family. The story of Akhtar and his father that forms the book’s center is filled with drama, pathos, humor, hope, grief, and loss.
It’s also an indictment of capitalism, American exceptionalism and racism and stupidity; and a reflection on how we’ve allowed ourselves to become a nation where each and every thing from Presidents to plastic to whether people have homes and health and education, is defined around Money. A country where we, ourselves, have no value other than what’s defined by money. There’s reflections on the Muslim faith, 9/11 and its aftermath.
But in case that all sounds pretty dense and or depressing, there’s so much fascinating anecdote! Cardiology mistakes! Malpractice! Syphilis! An intriguing millionaire who takes Akhtar under his wing and shows him the lifestyle of the rich and famous! Racist dink chasing our hero around with a gun, because ‘Murica! Cops and why brown people lie to cops! Finding out about his parents’ long ago – and not so long ago – love affairs!
Very well done, and recommended.
When some authors are trying to make points about issues, they do so in such a way that seems pedantic, especially when the point takes a great deal of background to set up. From my point of view, Akhtar avoids that weakness by having his themes and narrative be character driven, whether the character be the protagonist, a featured support character, or even a less central supporting character. I learned a great deal about a number of things about which I was ignorant, but I never felt "preached at."
Although the themes around issues are important, everyday familial relationships, friendships, and and the sense of belonging growing out of a shared cultural experience also seem important to the narrator.
Highly recommended.
Although the themes around issues are important, everyday familial relationships, friendships, and and the sense of belonging growing out of a shared cultural experience also seem important to the narrator.
Highly recommended.