A review by michaelclorah
Infidel by Pornsak Pichetshote

5.0

Infidel is a stunning piece of art. It's one terrifying mother of a haunted house story, but of course, that isn't what's going to get it the attention it deserves. Infidel builds its horror out of very real, very inescapable conversations that we all have - about how people of other races and religions are viewed in our culture. What makes this particular book stand out, however, is the skill with which Mr. Pichetshote and Mr. Campbell address these complicated issues. Infidel isn't really about racism or Islamophobia at all. It's about how we struggle to talk about these important topics and how our failure to discuss these differences in cultural identification - our lack of the very basic vocabulary needed to talk about them - exacerbates these divides, causing deeper harms than even base hatred can muster. It's a powerful, emotional piece of horror and surviving a haunted house won't offer any easy solutions to the questions Infidel poses.