“For us, the true Soviet evil wasn’t socialism—as it was for most Americans—but atheism.”
Ayad Akhtar is an excellent writer! At first, I didn’t think he would draw me into the novel since he started out describing his father’s perceived “friendship” with Donald Trump. I believe that part may be real, but Akhtar has combined fact and fiction in this book; it seems he purposely wrote this novel to read like a memoir and keep the reader guessing about which parts are real.* Once I figured out his storytelling strategy, I couldn’t stop reading.
There is Ayad, the author, and Ayad, the first-person storytelling character. Ayad, the character’s parents, both medical doctors, emigrated from Pakistan before he was born. His father was a prominent cardiologist who might have treated Trump in the 1990s, and it seems that since he could relate to him as a businessman, he might have voted for him in 2016. Ayad learns much about his parents from his mother’s diary that he read after she died. The storyteller mentions early in the book that he had seen his father as an upright moral citizen until he became aware of some of his political beliefs and discovered that he had a mistress. He also realized that his mother had been in love with someone else when she married his father. Ayad shares other information from copious notes he records after conversing with his parents, friends, acquaintances, and lovers. Ayad wanted to be a writer since he was relatively young, and although his father warned him that it would be difficult to make a living as a writer, he pursued his dream, honed his craft, and became a Pulitzer-prize winning playwright.
As an American Muslim, Ayad delves into USA politics and economics by sharing engaging stories about his parents, their contemporaries, and eventually, his mentors and friends. The book conveys details of several poignant events that are nuanced enough to elucidate the author’s point of view and invite readers to consider their preconceived notions. Akhtar, the author, has the uncanny ability to garner the reader’s sympathy for the “others” in the world. With carefully developed prose about relatable characters, he
–Describes what it felt like to be a Muslim in New York on September 11, 2001.
–Comments on the USA’s response after the September 11 attacks, including Osama Bin Laden
–Discusses the treatment of Blacks in the USA
–Explains the partition of India to create Pakistan
–Posits what would have happened if the South had won the American Civil War
–Expounds upon the importance of money in the history of the USA
–Opines about the USA’s involvement in Central American countries and other continents.
–Tells an explicit narrative about the privatization of medical care in the USA
–Mentions classic literary and philosophical works and emphasizes the importance of understanding them
–Hints at the ignorance and indifference of so many people
The book contains vignettes of life with many characters who have multiple layers to unpack. The reader is left with many questions:
–What does it mean to be American?
–Is the USA really founded on religious freedom?
–How hateful are Americans toward Muslims?
–What are the USA’s real interests when they get involved in other countries’ affairs?
–Are humans born to fight?
–Who gets to write history?
I highly recommend this book about belonging and being the ‘other.” His stories are unforgettable.
*It’s Real, It’s Fiction, It’s A Paradox: Ayad Akhtar On His ‘Homeland Elegies’By Noel King npr.org
https://n.pr/36qq9Sh
