Thank you to NetGalley for my free eARC! All opinions are my own.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Following two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 1990s to San Francisco in 2016, Bad Muslim Discount is a hilarious, timely, and provocative comic novel about being Muslim immigrants in modern America. For fans of Hanif Kureshi, Mira Jacob, and Mohammed Hanif.
It is 1995, and Anvar Faris is a restless, rebellious, and sharp-tongued boy doing his best to grow up in Karachi, Pakistan. As fundamentalists in the government become increasingly strident and the zealots next door start roaming the streets in gangs to help make Islam great again, his family decides, not quite unanimously, to start life over in California. The irony is not lost on Anvar that in America, his deeply devout mother and his model-Muslim brother are the ones who fit right in with the tightly knit and gossipy Desi community. Anvar wants more.
At the same time, thousands of miles away, Safwa, a young girl suffocating in war-torn Baghdad with her grief-stricken, conservative father will find a very different and far more dangerous path to America. These two narratives are intrinsically linked, and when their worlds come together, the fates of two remarkably different people intertwine and set off a series of events that rock their whole community to its core.
The Bad Muslim Discount is an irreverent, dramatic, and often hysterically funny debut novel by an amazing new voice. With deep insight, warmth, and an irreverent sense of humor, Syed Masood examines quirky and intense familial relationships, arranged marriage, Islamic identity, and how to live together in modern America.
It is 1995, and Anvar Faris is a restless, rebellious, and sharp-tongued boy doing his best to grow up in Karachi, Pakistan. As fundamentalists in the government become increasingly strident and the zealots next door start roaming the streets in gangs to help make Islam great again, his family decides, not quite unanimously, to start life over in California. The irony is not lost on Anvar that in America, his deeply devout mother and his model-Muslim brother are the ones who fit right in with the tightly knit and gossipy Desi community. Anvar wants more.
At the same time, thousands of miles away, Safwa, a young girl suffocating in war-torn Baghdad with her grief-stricken, conservative father will find a very different and far more dangerous path to America. These two narratives are intrinsically linked, and when their worlds come together, the fates of two remarkably different people intertwine and set off a series of events that rock their whole community to its core.
The Bad Muslim Discount is an irreverent, dramatic, and often hysterically funny debut novel by an amazing new voice. With deep insight, warmth, and an irreverent sense of humor, Syed Masood examines quirky and intense familial relationships, arranged marriage, Islamic identity, and how to live together in modern America.
Genre? Contemporary Fiction/Historical Fiction/#OwnVoices
Backlist? No. This was published today! (February 2, 2021)
New to me Author? Yes
What did I think? I really enjoyed this book! At the beginning, when we are following Anvar and his family in Pakistan, I'll admit I wasn't as much invested, though it had more to do with the fact that I'm not a huge historical fiction fan than it was the culture. I personally find the culture fascinating.
Once we jump to the later timelines in America, I was all in. I really enjoyed continuing to learn more about Anvar and his relationship with himself, with women, and with his culture. You could sense his struggle, but it wasn't over the top. Anvar has a way of using humor (they always point out how bad his jokes are) to deal with things and I loved it so much!
Safwa's story is so beautifully written, despite how heartbreaking it is. Again, her struggles and her successes are very evident when reading. She's fully relatable.
One thing I got from this book that I was not expecting, was a lot more knowledge on the Quran. Now, I am in no way anywhere close to an expert, but I know more now than I did before reading. And, at the risk of getting too controversial, it was amazing to see the similarities in the Islamic beliefs and Western Christianity. This was so well written. It did not seem preachy, but just furthered the storyline.
Highly recommend! 4.5 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment