About the Book

They survived the Bangladesh war of independence, but now that the fever of revolution has passed, siblings Maya and Sohail Haque must face the challenges of peace. While Maya embraces her new life, training to become a doctor, her brother Sohail wrestles with troubling memories of the war. He takes solace in his faith, and slowly sheds his identity as a young political leader to become a devout Muslim.

Stubbornly refusing to accept her brother’s transformation, Maya leaves her childhood home and travels deep into the heart of the country. When she returns years later, she enters the cloistered world Sohail has created, where she meets and grows to love his son, Zaid. Soon she begins to understand the power of her brother’s message, and rekindles her long-held hope of reconciliation. But when Sohail sends Zaid to a madrasa on a remote river island, Maya is forced to decide where her loyalties ultimately lie.

The Good Muslim is about the lasting ravages of war, the competing loyalties of love and belief, and the deeply intimate roots of religious extremism.

Critical Praise

“Anam’s fluent prose and sharp insights are at their best when the narrative strays . . . into the surreal ways in which faith and love work-and sometimes fail.” — The New Yorker

“The Good Muslim brims with gripping narrative, absorbing history and Shakespearean moral conundrums. . . . A keen examination of survival and forgiveness.” — Los Angeles Times

“Anam has an eye for culture, and for cultural dissonance. The writer’s gift is to make the unfamiliar understood. The Good Muslim succeeds in doing exactly that, and doing it well.” — Denver Post

“Throughout the novel’s extremes of violence and tragedy, Anam always allows the ultimate humanity of the characters to shine through.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Anam has a gift for tackling complex issues both personal and political.” — Library Journal

“Gripping and beautifully written. . . . From historical, political, and social tragedy, Anam has fashioned a mesmerizing story capturing a culture and a time.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Anam seems to be a novelist not so much luxuriating in the act of writing as in total control of it, using the right words to create her stunning story.” — Arifa Akbar, The Independent

“Anam tells a poignant, little-known story of a country often lost in the maze of global politics.” — Booklist

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Product Details

• ISBN: 9780061478864
• ISBN 10: 0061478865
• Imprint: Harper Perennial
• On Sale: 08/14/2012
• Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 0.720 in (d)
• Pages: 320
• List Price: $14.99
• BISAC1 : FICTION / Historical / World War II
• BISAC2 : FICTION / Family Life / Siblings
• BISAC3 : FICTION / Romance / Historical / 20th Century
• BISAC4 : FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
• BISAC5 : FICTION: World Literature / Asia (General)
• BISAC6 : FICTION / Thrillers / Historical
• BISAC7 : FICTION: World Literature / American / 21st Century
• BISAC8 : FICTION: World Literature / American / 20th Century
• BISAC9 : FICTION: World Literature / India / 21st Century
• BISAC10 : FICTION: Historical / 20th Century / Post-World War II
• BISAC11 : FICTION / Asian American