American Dervish

A Novel

De: Ayad Akhtar

Narrado por: Ayad Akhtar

From Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar, a stirring and explosive debut novel about an American Muslim family in Wisconsin struggling with faith and belonging in the pre-9/11 world.

Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes.

American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life.

Amazing Story

This is one of the best books I have read this year! Extremely well written and thought-provoking. The author makes you feel as if you are in the home of the Shah family. I don’t k ow much about the Muslim faith but the story paints a picture of the challenges we all face to understand and follow our beliefs. It is especially poignant from the perspective of an adolescent Young man trying to do the right thing and the harsh reality when he makes the wrong choices.

Highly Recommend!

The author and narrator gives an extraordinary performance revealing how religion affects life as an American-Pakistani.

The author's narration makes the story poingnant.

Where does American Dervish rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Withthe author narrating his own works it was possible to truly hear the inflection and tone he was attempting to create in his writing.

Good novel

This book was so engaging I made time to listen to it and listened through to the end. I have had close friends from Pakistan so I picked it up to better understand their culture. I ended up learning a lot.

a complex, rewarding book

What about Ayad Akhtar’s performance did you like?

Because of Mr. Akhtar's background and the fact that he is also a wonderful actor, his performance is completely involving, his accents spot on. You really feel as if you come to know the people inhabiting this book.

Who was the most memorable character of American Dervish and why?

The character of Meena, the

Any additional comments?

This is a book to live in, full of insights and beautifully told. It's one of the best books I've listened to in ages.

A fly on the wall in someone's kitchen

I felt like a fly on the wall in the kitchen of a Muslim family pressed on both sides by traditional Muslim practices/customs and shifting values. I wish I could sit at more tables like that. I know very little behind the scenes about Muslim customs, particularly as they affect women, and to see it impact a specific family was very interesting. What a great play this would make.

MORE PLEASE?
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Interesting story with amazing narration

This story held my interest all the way through. The characters were so well developed I thought this was a true story. I felt compassion for each person’s situation. I found it intelligent and gripping The author gave such insights to each misunderstanding and complexity. It made me think and it made me feel. This story will linger with me for some time to come

Outstanding! simply outstanding!

didn't expect much but this was something else... from beginning to the end, just amazing

Best book of the year

The best book of the year. And I read a lot! Thank you to the author, and encouragement to write more!

Compelling performance and story

This little novel stunned me into immobility,and until I finished the epiloge I was in the world of Pakistani newcomers in the midwest. When I refer to the novel as "little" I am only referring to its length. It is a powerful big story of family, faith, love, hate and all the universal themes that make good fiction the moral compass for the 21st century. I have searched for a novel that could give the reader a look at what it is like to be a Muslim in America. Although that is too large a task for one little Muslim community, it does give the curious a direction to follow.It doesn't suprise me that the reader is the author.This is one of the most riveting performaces I have ever enjoyed. Please read this book.