A little transcendentalism can be a dangerous thing, particularly when its coupled with adolescent romanticism. That seems to be the theme of a wonderful novel I read last night, Pearl Abrahams ``American Taliban. Its about a boy somewhat like Marin Countys John Walker Lindt who is in search of himself, and, in the process, discovers Islam. He is infused, in equal measure, with the swashbuckling notions of Britians 19th century adventurer Sir Richard Burton, and the spiritual intensity of Sufi poetry. Unlike Walker, John Jude Parish (named for John Lennon and the song ``Hey Jude), a tall slender surfer, grows up in Washington DCs Adams Morgan with an intact family: a father who is a lawyer and a psychiatrist mother. They are liberal, permissive, and, the mother at least, tends toward self-dramatization. Shes also suffocating and over-involved in her sons life. A skateboard injury puts an end to Parishs plans to head off to Brown University after his high school graduation and instead, a desire to explore mysticism leads to a madrassa in Brooklyn that marks the beginning of the journey that takes him to the mountain passes of Afghanistan just as 9/11 occurs. Its a very thoughtful novel, and it is easy, on some levels, to feel deep sympathy for this very earnest and well-meaning young man. On another, I wanted to grab hold of him and shake him, just the way ``Romeo and Juliet always makes me want to box Romeos ears. The story came close to home because, among family friends there is a young man who converted to Islam and who both traveled to Afghanistan and made the Haj before 9/11. Fortunately, his life path has been quite different. I recommend this book for a slow careful reading, and perhaps a second reading after that. Its interesting that this was written by Pearl Abraham, who grew up in a Satmar Hasidic family she left at the age of 19 to escape an arranged marriage. She now teaches creative writing at a university in New England. Her prose style is relatively lean, the dialogue realistic, and the plot points meaningful. I will look for her other works for sure. oregonlive/books/index.ssf/2010/05/fiction_review_american_taliba.html
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 19:13:14 +0000