American Dervish

A Novel

By: Ayad Akhtar

Narrated by: 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.