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voices_and_viewpoints's review
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
shievad's review
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Terminal illness, Torture, and Toxic relationship
hanvnah's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal death and Islamophobia
Minor: Rape and Torture
serendipitysbooks's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I expected The Bad Muslim Discount to be a light read. This was based on the cover and also on Anvar, the main character whose most noticeable characteristics seemed to be his irreverent sense of humour and his inability to abide by the expected codes of behaviour in his community. Yet behind his flawed and flippant facade there was a real strength of character which came into play later into the book when the plot ventured into some very heavy territory (plenty of CWs -especially for emotional abuse, domestic abuse, gun violence).Anvar and the book were better for this. I loved the deeper storyline and the way he came into his own and found something he wanted to stand up for - even if it didn’t go according to plan. His word plays and banter were fun to read but it was the exploration of the darker side of humanity that really made this book shine for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gun violence
Moderate: Islamophobia
kniticaltherapy's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Very surprised by this book. I had no assumptions going in, not really sure what it was about but once I got past the goat sacrifice in the first chapter I was absolutely hooked.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Islamophobia
Minor: Torture
sraymartin's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
now_booking's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First 5-star read of the year and I’m absolutely wowed! First off, I must confess that this book wasn’t what I expected. Yes, it had the dry wit and irreverent humour I anticipated given the cover and title of the book, but more than that it took me on a journey of questioning and faith and exploring your beliefs and the things you think you know, and the injustices and inevitabilities of life, and it was absolutely brilliant- from the writing to the storytelling.
The book tells the story of 2 central characters who are imperfect and broken in different ways. Anwar is an irreverent skeptic from a Muslim family. Born and raised in Pakistan, his clever humorous wit and irreverent questions about matters of faith were already a concern to his religious mother, long before he moved to America. Now a wise-cracking, chronically underachieving adult, he finds himself in Hafeez Bhatti’s rundown building as one of the philanthropists collection of bad Muslims a.k.a broken and imperfect people in need of help. There he meets Azza, an undocumented immigrant who shares his lack of ability to settle and find peace, and a history that is more devastatingly brutal than he can imagine.
It’s incredibly difficult to summarize this book and the intersections of the characters and their story without giving it all away. This book examines themes of love, family and friendship in a way that is beautifully relatable, but also themes of religious faith, resilience, and fear in ways that any person of faith or lack thereof would find compellingly apt. The book is divided into parts which represent different timelines- from the mid 1990s in part 1 to 2016/2017 and the election of Donald Trump into office. This isn’t an especially political book, other than the way politics intersects with life, until the end when clearly during the 2016 election which happens near the end of the book, populist ideologies become a reality for the characters in a way. But even though Islamophobia is a minor theme in this book, this is not a book about that or about us vs them. It’s a book about people. The characters felt incredibly real and that verisimilitude, whilst emotionally engaging when reading Anvar’s sections, becomes almost brutal when reading Azza’s. And yet as emotionally-charged as this novel is, it’s perfectly balanced with Anvar’s dark sense of humor and Azza’s almost fatalistic sense of reality. This book is sad and painful, but you won’t be able to put it down. The language is beyond gorgeous, the insights eminently quoteworthy- I found myself highlighting large swathes of this book and its brilliant takes on faith and brotherhood, injustice and fear. I found Anvar to be an odd mix of bold irreverence and cautious fear.
This book won’t be for everyone. I am a person of faith (Christ follower) and I get not every book that questions faith will be for everyone- we are all at different points in our acceptance that someone questioning our beliefs doesn’t have to be blasphemous or doesn’t have to mean that we question our beliefs. If you’re conservative especially conservative Muslim and you might be offended by a protagonists irreverent journey to come to terms with his faith, this might be one to avoid. For me as a Christian, even though this was clearly a book where Anvar’s (the main character’s) relationship with Islam was explored extensively as a major theme, I found this applicable and relatable as someone who also grew up in the Christian faith as a practicing Christian, having questions and still having faith but also trying to understand my own personal relationship with God not based on my family’s relationship or my Church’s relationship. And I think at its heart, for Anwar, that’s what this story is about. It’s about being a back-slidden person, about being a remedial person of faith, about trying to be better, and from Azza, it’s a book about this world draining the faith out of you but still finding the kernel of hope that perhaps all is not lost and there is still beauty.
I think one of the reasons why I’m so in love with this book is because I love characters that are broken and imperfect, characters that have no reason to believe in anything anymore and yet are on a journey to decide for themselves what they believe. I’m a huge fan of the characters in this book, in my life I’ve known Anvars and Zuhas, maybe only 1 or 2 Azzas, and for that reason it felt like they were getting their story. I didn’t necessarily LOVE any of the characters, but I enjoyed reading them and thinking about them and spending time with them. I think this is a great book for all the black sheep, the questioners, the ones on their own journeys of faith and life, the ones who have been hurt, the ones healing, the families that can’t speak of the love they have for each other.
I am so blown away by this book- I read it in less than 24 hours and literally couldn’t put it down needing to know what would happen next. I adored this but am looking forward to reading more own voices reviews to get other perspectives on this. For me, it was absolutely brilliant! Super grateful to Doubleday Books for a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley.
The book tells the story of 2 central characters who are imperfect and broken in different ways. Anwar is an irreverent skeptic from a Muslim family. Born and raised in Pakistan, his clever humorous wit and irreverent questions about matters of faith were already a concern to his religious mother, long before he moved to America. Now a wise-cracking, chronically underachieving adult, he finds himself in Hafeez Bhatti’s rundown building as one of the philanthropists collection of bad Muslims a.k.a broken and imperfect people in need of help. There he meets Azza, an undocumented immigrant who shares his lack of ability to settle and find peace, and a history that is more devastatingly brutal than he can imagine.
It’s incredibly difficult to summarize this book and the intersections of the characters and their story without giving it all away. This book examines themes of love, family and friendship in a way that is beautifully relatable, but also themes of religious faith, resilience, and fear in ways that any person of faith or lack thereof would find compellingly apt. The book is divided into parts which represent different timelines- from the mid 1990s in part 1 to 2016/2017 and the election of Donald Trump into office. This isn’t an especially political book, other than the way politics intersects with life, until the end when clearly during the 2016 election which happens near the end of the book, populist ideologies become a reality for the characters in a way. But even though Islamophobia is a minor theme in this book, this is not a book about that or about us vs them. It’s a book about people. The characters felt incredibly real and that verisimilitude, whilst emotionally engaging when reading Anvar’s sections, becomes almost brutal when reading Azza’s. And yet as emotionally-charged as this novel is, it’s perfectly balanced with Anvar’s dark sense of humor and Azza’s almost fatalistic sense of reality. This book is sad and painful, but you won’t be able to put it down. The language is beyond gorgeous, the insights eminently quoteworthy- I found myself highlighting large swathes of this book and its brilliant takes on faith and brotherhood, injustice and fear. I found Anvar to be an odd mix of bold irreverence and cautious fear.
This book won’t be for everyone. I am a person of faith (Christ follower) and I get not every book that questions faith will be for everyone- we are all at different points in our acceptance that someone questioning our beliefs doesn’t have to be blasphemous or doesn’t have to mean that we question our beliefs. If you’re conservative especially conservative Muslim and you might be offended by a protagonists irreverent journey to come to terms with his faith, this might be one to avoid. For me as a Christian, even though this was clearly a book where Anvar’s (the main character’s) relationship with Islam was explored extensively as a major theme, I found this applicable and relatable as someone who also grew up in the Christian faith as a practicing Christian, having questions and still having faith but also trying to understand my own personal relationship with God not based on my family’s relationship or my Church’s relationship. And I think at its heart, for Anwar, that’s what this story is about. It’s about being a back-slidden person, about being a remedial person of faith, about trying to be better, and from Azza, it’s a book about this world draining the faith out of you but still finding the kernel of hope that perhaps all is not lost and there is still beauty.
I think one of the reasons why I’m so in love with this book is because I love characters that are broken and imperfect, characters that have no reason to believe in anything anymore and yet are on a journey to decide for themselves what they believe. I’m a huge fan of the characters in this book, in my life I’ve known Anvars and Zuhas, maybe only 1 or 2 Azzas, and for that reason it felt like they were getting their story. I didn’t necessarily LOVE any of the characters, but I enjoyed reading them and thinking about them and spending time with them. I think this is a great book for all the black sheep, the questioners, the ones on their own journeys of faith and life, the ones who have been hurt, the ones healing, the families that can’t speak of the love they have for each other.
I am so blown away by this book- I read it in less than 24 hours and literally couldn’t put it down needing to know what would happen next. I adored this but am looking forward to reading more own voices reviews to get other perspectives on this. For me, it was absolutely brilliant! Super grateful to Doubleday Books for a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Islamophobia and Torture
Minor: Racism, Rape, and Xenophobia
charisma_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
To think that this book will probably be overlooked because of its cover... BUT, like they say, don’t judge a book by its cover.
This book was everything I hoped it would be, and more. Masood truly showed the difference between being Muslim from South Asia and being a Muslim American. I really learned so much from this book from verses from the Quran, to how life was demonstrated in the Middle East during the time Americans began invading there countries to how a Muslim looks at the world compared to a Muslim American and there world views.
This is not a light hearted read and it goes to show how truly talented Masood is. He has a great eye for detail and truly understands the importance of explaining his culture and religion to readers in a most pleasant way. This is not a book to try and skim through nor is it a book that you can become easily distracted with. There is some satire with one of the MCs and it does lighten the mood up a bit but it just goes to show the difference between him and devoted Muslims. I loved how it showed in the end, what the book truly is about is how even though Allah kept repeating how everyone must do the right thing, one never knows what the right thing truly is. The world is simply not black and white. Every action has an equal or opposite reaction.
This novel tore through all my emotions and truly left my heart sad but filled with hope. It is okay to read a heavy book and still fall in love with it and its purpose, its education and its message.
Thank you to double day books for this gifted copy in an exchange for an honest review.
This book was everything I hoped it would be, and more. Masood truly showed the difference between being Muslim from South Asia and being a Muslim American. I really learned so much from this book from verses from the Quran, to how life was demonstrated in the Middle East during the time Americans began invading there countries to how a Muslim looks at the world compared to a Muslim American and there world views.
This is not a light hearted read and it goes to show how truly talented Masood is. He has a great eye for detail and truly understands the importance of explaining his culture and religion to readers in a most pleasant way. This is not a book to try and skim through nor is it a book that you can become easily distracted with. There is some satire with one of the MCs and it does lighten the mood up a bit but it just goes to show the difference between him and devoted Muslims. I loved how it showed in the end, what the book truly is about is how even though Allah kept repeating how everyone must do the right thing, one never knows what the right thing truly is. The world is simply not black and white. Every action has an equal or opposite reaction.
This novel tore through all my emotions and truly left my heart sad but filled with hope. It is okay to read a heavy book and still fall in love with it and its purpose, its education and its message.
Thank you to double day books for this gifted copy in an exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Domestic abuse
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