Akram's War : A Novel of One Young Muslim's Journey to Radicalization

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

One night, Akram Khan walks out of his house towards an appointed time and place where he is supposed to detonate a bomb that will end his life and that of many innocent bystanders. As he wanders through the town he encounters Grace, whose life has been marred just as his has, forming an unlikely closeness borne of need and necessity. Akram tells Grace about his seemingly inexorable journey towards radicalization: a childhood within the tight-knit Pakistani community, his complex friendships among outcasts, his disastrous years in the army, and his empty arranged marriage to a woman who remains a stranger. Delicately drawn, Akram's War is an honest and shocking kaleidoscopic portrait of contemporary Britain, and of the ways in which the twists and turns of fate can scar and mark a life.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

Akram Khan leaves his home in the early morning of Armistice Day with no plans to return. He has been radicalized by a childhood friend turned extremist and intends to detonate a bomb at a morning ceremony. En route, he meets Grace, a prostitute whose daughter was removed from her care by social services. Through the course of the night, Akram tells Grace stories from his life. Safdar's debut novel gives readers a view into the experiences of childhood and coming-of-age in a close-knit immigrant community. Of Pakistani descent, Akram grew up in the same house where he lives with his parents and wife. He is a former British soldier who was wounded in Afghanistan. The novel reads like a series of short stories as Akram makes friends, serves in the military, and enters into his arranged marriage. Although Grace feels at times little more than a catalyst for Akram's narrative, Safdar makes efforts to overcome some illogical plot points through his examination of relationships in economically depressed communities.--Chanoux, Laura Copyright 2017 Booklist