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American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

American Dervish

A Novel

by Ayad Akhtar
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  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (6):
  • First Published:
  • Jan 9, 2012, 368 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2012, 384 pages
  • Reviewed by BookBrowse Book Reviewed by:
    Megan Shaffer
  • Genres & Themes
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M E Hayes

Caught between two cultures.
After hearing the interview on NPR with the author, Ayad Akhtar, I was intrigued.
This is a timely, contemporary novel concerning topics of religious freedoms, immigration, family ties and personal growth. Hayat, the narrator is young and impressionable but who should he believe when those he loves and trusts are each guiding him with opposing words and demands. What values are really important? Imagine a spinning top contained within a box or boxes, it whirs and turns bouncing from one side to another in constant motion.
Only when he stops to listen to his own breath, listen to his own heart is he able to feel complete, feel centered.
This book describes a Pakistani family with Muslim ties residing in an American city trying desperately to be intimate, caring and good but at times is violent, wrought with self doubt and on the brink of destruction.
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Beyond the Book:
  The Devotion of a Hafiz

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