ARE YOU LISTENING? AMERICAN DERVISH - AN AUDIO BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S" 

ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY" 

I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S

AUDIO BOOK CHOICE.....

GIVEAWAY ENDED
AMERICAN DERVISH

The Unabridged Audio Book

BY AYAD AKHTAR

 READ BY AYAD AKHTAR

ABOUT THE BOOK:

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.

Mina is Hayat's mother's oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shah's doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayat's skeptical father can't deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the family's Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Mina's side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher.

When Mina meets and begins dating a man, Hayat is confused by his feelings of betrayal. His growing passions, both spiritual and romantic, force him to question all that he has come to believe is true. Just as Mina finds happiness, Hayat is compelled to act -- with devastating consequences for all those he loves most.

American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America. This is an intimate, personal first novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ayad Akhtar is an American-born, first generation Pakistani-American from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He holds degrees in Theater from Brown University and in Directing from the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University, where he won multiple awards for his work. He is the author of numerous screenplays and was star and co-writer of The War Within, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and an International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Picture - Drama. American Dervish is his first novel. 

PRAISE FOR AMERICAN DERVISH:

"Engaging and accessible, thoughtful without being daunting: This may be the novel that brings Muslim-American fiction into the commercial mainstream."
— Kirkus Reviews (Starred)

"The young teen's personal story about growing up in Muslim America is both particular and universal, with intense connections of faith, sorrow, tenderness, anger, betrayal, questioning, and love."
— Booklist 

"This is a powerful story..."
— The Bookworms Library

"Ayad Akhtar isn't afraid of the truth..."
— All American Indian Girl 

"Titles to Watch"
— Publishers Weekly 

"This book hooked me from the very first page. I loved the clarity of the descriptions, so fresh and exciting and alive in the young Hayat. Also love the way emotions were expressed. I felt like I was right there among them. And all the passages of the Quran—so beautiful, moving & effective."
― Barnes & Noble #2242 (Montclair, CA) 

"A coming-of-age novel about a mesmerized Muslim boy, and more.....Start off the new year by cozying up to one of these captivating reads."

--O MAGAZINE: "16 Books to Watch for in January, 2012 

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW: 
Ayad Akhtar’s debut novel, AMERICAN DERVISH, is a book that grabbed my attention after only a few pages. For me, the story had the feel and promise of the writings of Khaled Hosseini and whose wonderful stories, THE KITE RUNNER and A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, are two of my favorite books.  AMERICAN DERVISH is the story of an immigrant Pakistani family whose lives revolve around their religious beliefs and the difficulty of living these lives in a very different culture. With four main characters, Akhtar makes the story come to life as he gives readers brilliantly developed, multi-layered personalities.

The most important of these characters is Hayat Shah who starts out as an adolescent trying to balance his religious home life with the cultural differences he faces each day with school and friends. His story is one where he privately watches his parents’ relationship falter and his American counterparts lead perplexing lives. Meanwhile, Hayat is left with nobody to talk to about this. His mother, Irshad, is a strong woman who puts up with no foolishness except from her husband, Naveed. However, even though Naveed likes to drink too much and disrespects her by cheating with American women, you get the idea that Irshad still runs this household. When her lifelong friend, Mina, wants to come to America to start a new life, Irshad’s decision overrules all else. Mina comes with her young son to start a new life, leaving behind her former husband who was sadistic and dictatorial.

With the interactions of these four characters accentuated by Hayak’s unanticipated reaction to Mina, AMERICAN DERVISH travels a path to which some unexpected twists and turns create the real conflict in the story. Hayak’s loss of innocence is played out not only sexually, but also through his religion and cultural awareness. Unable to separate his personal feelings from his growing dedication to his religious beliefs in Islam, Hayat is confused and acts out with such obsession that he thus initiates actions that will follow him the rest of his life.

AMERICAN DERVISH, where the term “dervish” is defined and played out throughout the story, is a remarkable as well as complex story that will hold your attention throughout. Ayad Akhtar’s reading of his own words in the audio book make for a pleasant audio experience. I shall watch for more from Akhtar to see if his future endeavors develop to the level of a Khaled Hosseini as I think it surely will.  

GIVEAWAY

 THANKS TO MITCH AND THE FINE FOLKS AT

HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE TWO COPIES

OF THIS FABULOUS AND FASCINATING AUDIO

BOOK TO GIVE AWAY TO 2 LUCKY WINNERS!

 

--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE
SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: READ ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK ABOVE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT AMERICAN DERVISH THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT THE MULTI-TALENTED AYAD AKHTAR'S WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: "LIKE" AYAD AKHTAR ON FACEBOOK HERE AND LEAVE A COMMENT THERE ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, MARCH 10

GOOD LUCK!