Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar

What began somewhat as a confusing read, finished as a most thought provoking and intellectually stimulating adventure. Although Homeland Elegies clearly states that it is a novel, what was perplexing was that the narrator shared the name with the author, as well as many biographical similarities. Was it fact or was it fiction?

Born to Pakistani parents both Akhtar the narrator and the author share much of the same up bringing. Both parents (not their real names in the novel) were esteemed physicians and both settled in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the novel, Akhtar's father, Sikander, was summoned to be the personal cardiologist for Donald Trump and is flown in to NYC when Trump experiences some heart-related symptoms of ill health. This backdrop provides Akhtar, the novelist, a spring board on which to launch his disdain for the former president. 

Told in a series of often fragmented chapters that often are most like essays, memoirs, or narrative prose, the reader gains insight into the life of a young man who is trying to find his place as an American, after the attacks on 9/11. Akhtar the narrator recounts what it is like to be Muslim in this country as well as American when he returns for a brief time to Pakistan. He is educated in the world of capitalism by another Muslim, Riaz Rind, a hedge fund manager who takes him under his wing. His mother, Fatima,  longs to return to her homeland and pines for that time and regretting that she did not marry a medical school classmate.  The contrast between his parents' views of life in America set an underlying tone for the novel. Akhtar recounts the days after 9/11 where he wore a cross around his neck to squelch thoughts that he was Un-American. He seeks an identity for himself that must bridge both aspects of his being.

Akhtar, the writer's, message becomes clear as he addresses the racism and anti-immigrant feelings that are pervasive in those days and years after the terrorist attacks on the United States. He contends that the hopes that the working class once dared dream were dashed by the failure of capitalism and accrual of debt. It is this state that contributes to such systemic racism. 

In one of the most erudite and informed lectures delivered by authors of the Ten Evenings seried, Akhtar explained many of the nuances of the writing of the book and his view of the United States today. His comparison of the demise of the Roman Empire to the state of our country was startling. Perhaps one of the most forceful quotes of the lecture that resonates today was one from the novel:  

“The established majority takes its "we" image from a minority of its best and shapes a "they" image of the despised outsiders from a minority of their worst.” 

A powerful and mind-stretching read.  

 

 

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

When I first heard about the premise of the book, it seemed like it was going to be a rollicking comedy. Completely missed the mark on that. Indeed, it was humorous in parts, but the overriding them spoke volumes about the rights of people and how far a government can go to regulate its constituents - quite relevant today. The novel takes the form of letters between two cousins, Ella Minnow Pea and Tassie, as well as others associated with the families.

In the middle of the town on an independent island, Nollop,  off the coast coast of South Carolina. The island is devoted to Nevin Nollop, the creator of the phrase, "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." The sentence is memorialized by a series of tiles on a monument to Nollop. All is well on the island until the letter z drops from the monument. The High Island Council decides that this is an omen and that Nollop has desired the inhabitants to eliminate the letter from all written and spoken dialog. If a citizen used a word containing that letter, then punishment would be inflicted, escalating at each transgression. Not only did this have far reaching effects on the people, but the library had to purge any books with z. 

As the novel progresses, so do the number of tiles that fall from the statue, creating quite a dilemma for all. Substitute words have to be invented and the islanders become more frustrated and irate at the authoritarian tactics of the council. An underground resistance movement is founded with the goal to find a shorter sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet so that the council might realize that the tiles falling does not indicate the desire of Nollop to forbid words that contained them. A journalist, Nate Warren, arrives at the island hoping to lend scientific evidence of the reason the tiles are dropping off. Meanwhile, the letters keep getting more enigmatic as Dunn is under the constraint of coming up with words that contain only the approved letters. 

The wordplay throughout the novel is brilliant and puts the reader through his/her paces in deciphering words. This lends humor and farce to the read. However, it like Animal Farm, is political satire, examining how much the freedom of expression of the citizenry can be restricted - book burning and shuttering of libraries. Ella is a strong woman and she perseveres to find a solution. It was a quick, enjoyable and thought-provoking read.