Homeland Elegies

Homeland Elegies is a post-9/11, post-Trump Muslim-American manifesto. I could never claim to know the experience of being Muslim in our country, but I think this book does a fantastic job of fleshing out nuanced, complicated feelings regarding a nuanced, complicated identity. The choice to make this read like a memoir only adds to the effect. In fact, I thought this was a memoir until about halfway through (love that shit) – the author does a good job of making it very convincing, and feeling like you're reading a first-hand account makes it easy to empathize, or at least sympathize, with the experience. There are some interesting dissertations/opinions on the topic of the American sociopolitical climate that lead to Trump's rise, and many scenarios of overt racism (borderline hate crimes) towards Muslim Americans/people of southeast asian or middle eastern descent that are automatically assumed Muslim that feels way too real. The ending really smacks you in the chest. Definitely worth a read, if you're into this kind of thing.