A review by cythera15
A Slap in the Face by Abbas Khider

dark funny sad fast-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

4.5

"Dear Frau Schulz, I left my homeland because I dreamt of becoming an ordinary man, that's all."

I loved reading this novel. Fast-paced, funny, but also tragic. Karim Mensy is an asylum seeker in Germany who doesn't even want to be in Germany. All he wants is a normal life - he is not political, he is not religious, and he definitely is not a revolutionary. I find this man to be quite sympathetic because of his everydayness. If you are an Iraqi, as Karim is, being political is almost demanded of you. This novel rejects that and tries to show that some asylum seekers - no matter how much we want them to fit our stereotype - wish no more than to be ordinary and without care.