This author explores complex human relationships and moral dilemmas through incisive storytelling. Their style is marked by raw honesty and a profound understanding of the human psyche, offering readers a compelling glimpse into their characters' inner lives. The author's work often delves into themes of justice and the search for identity in a tumultuous world.
The Annotated Arabian Nights features a modern translation by Yasmine Seale, the first by a woman, alongside insightful annotations by Paulo Lemos Horta. This illustrated edition explores the rich origins of the tales, including beloved stories like "Aladdin" and "Ali Baba," making it a valuable resource for readers of all ages.
For fans of Exit West and The Underground Railroad and from the widely acclaimed author of American War comes a profoundly moving novel examining the global refugee crisis through a child's lens.
Follow the tributaries of today's political combat a few decades into the future and you might arrive at something as terrifying as Omar El Akkad's debut novel. Across these scarred pages rages the clash that many of us are anxiously speculating about in the Trump era: a nation riven by irreconcilable ideologies, alienated by entrenched suspicions. Whether read as a cautionary tale of partisanship run amok, an allegory of past conflicts, or a study of the psychology of war, this deeply unsettling novel offers only the comfort that it is a work of fiction. El Akkad has an innate feel for the textural details of dystopia; his grim near-future fantasy feels like a crystal ball. If violence and conflict feel distant, this debut novel brings them home. Despite its future setting, it feels wrong to call it science fiction or even dystopian, as it is so few steps removed from our reality. The story of a family caught in the collapse of an empire is as harrowing as it is brilliant, with an air of terrible relevance in these partisan times. El Akkad's saga of suffering in a world of brutal power struggles and vengeance is gripping, unsparing, and essential for dangerously contentious times. Terrifyingly plausible, this vivid narrative depicts a country collapsing in on itself, introducing a fascinating character while offering a stinging rebuke of the distance with which the U.S. sometimes views current disasters.
Exploring themes of identity and marginalization, this novel by Omar El Akkad delves into the complexities of existence within an empire that overlooks the humanity of its subjects. Through a compelling narrative, it challenges readers to confront the realities of oppression and the struggle for recognition and dignity. El Akkad's poignant storytelling invites reflection on the broader implications of power and belonging in contemporary society.
Sarat Chestnut, born in Louisiana, is only six when the Second American Civil War breaks out in 2074. But even she knows that oil is outlawed, that Louisiana is half underwater, that unmanned drones fill the sky. And when her father is killed and her family is forced into Camp Patience for displaced persons, she quickly begins to be shaped by her particular time and place until, finally, through the influence of a mysterious functionary, she is turned into a deadly instrument of war. Telling her story is her nephew, Benjamin Chestnut, born during war – part of the Miraculous Generation – now an old man confronting the dark secret of his past, his family’s role in the conflict and, in particular, that of his aunt, a woman who saved his life while destroying untold others.
Als Einwanderer glaubte Omar El Akkad, dass der Westen ein Ort der Freiheit und Gerechtigkeit für alle sein würde. Doch in den Jahren, in denen er über den Klimawandel, die Black-Lives-Matter-Proteste, die verschiedenen Kriege gegen den Terror und vieles mehr berichtet und zuletzt den Genozid in Gaza beobachtet, wird ihm zunehmend klar, dass vieles von dem, was der Westen verspricht, eine Lüge ist. Eines Tages werden alle immer schon dagegen gewesen sein ist eine Chronik dieser schmerzhaften Erkenntnis, eine moralische Auseinandersetzung mit der Frage, was es bedeutet – als Bürger der USA, als Vater –, in diesen verheerenden Zeiten einen Sinn für Möglichkeiten zu finden. Eines Tages werden alle immer schon dagegen gewesen sein ist El Akkads bitterer, roher und verletzlicher Aufschrei von jemandem, der sich immer auf der Seite der Gerechten wähnte und nicht aufhört, das Gute zu suchen. Es ist ein von Herzen kommender Abschiedsbrief an den Westen, eine brillante Formulierung der Desillusionierung, die wir überall auf der Welt beobachten, in Familienzimmern, auf Universitätsgeländen, auf den Straßen der Städte. Dieses Buch ist für alle, die etwas Besseres wollen als das, was der Westen aufgetischt hat. Dies ist das Buch für unsere Zeit.
