American Taliban: A Novel

By Pearl Abraham

An avid, near-six-foot-tall surfer, John Jude Parish cuts a striking figure on the beaches of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. When he isn’t on water, John lives on wheels, a self-described skate rat—grinding and kickflipping with his friends, and encouraged by his progressive parents. His hero is the great explorer Richard Burton, his personal prophet is Bob Dylan, and his world is wide open—to new ideas, philosophies, and religions.

Through online forums and chat rooms, John meets a young woman from Brooklyn who spurs his interest in Islam and Arab literature. Deferring Brown University for a year, he moves to the idyllic New York borough to study Arabic. Like Burton, John embraces the experience heart, body, and soul—submitting to Islam, practicing the salaat, fasting and meditating, dancing with dervishes, and encountering the extraordinary. Burton lived the life of a nineteenth-century adventurer, but he also penetrated the ancient wisdom of secret worlds. John will too—with unforeseen consequences.
Critically acclaimed novelist Pearl Abraham uses her gifts of psychological acuity and uncommon empathy to depict a typical upper-middle-class family snared by the forces of history, politics, and faith. In American Taliban, she imagines this young surfer/skater on a distinctly American spiritual journey that begins with Transcendentalism and countercultural impulses, enters into world mysticism, and finds its destination in Islam.
 
Provocative, unsettling, and written in a brilliantly inventive, refreshingly original voice, American Taliban is poised to become one of the most talked-about novels of the year.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 13, 2010
• ISBN: 9781588369789

Reviews for American Taliban

[flashflood42 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've read about a hundred pages and then let my husband read it--both are reading it for a book group meeting in December. It deals with a young surfer/skateboarder who is injured and becomes enamored with studying Islam. His parents, ultra-permissive and indulgent, do not object. All this occurs before 9/11. My son, a Muslim convert, says that the book is interesting but full of errors re Islam. My guess is that it is based on John Walker Lind. I look forward to finishing it.

[bbuchan_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A thought provoking story. In American Taliban we follow the journey of John Jude Parish an 18 year old American surfer, skater and philosophy student from the Outer Banks of North Carolina as he develops a fascination with the Arabic language and culture, and the philosophy of Islam. A year later he's in a Taliban training camp in Pakistan, where his journey of self discovery intersects with the hard reality of a post 9/11world.

[shereads_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

John Jude Parish decides to postpone attending Brown and focus on surfing, skateboarding and exploring his own academic agenda. His mom, Barbara, helps him develop a reading list as a compromise. By August, he is already behind, choosing focus on surfing and skateboarding. An accident changes everything. John spends time exploring religions and finds himself corresponding with an Islamic girl from Brooklyn. He decides to attend school to study Arabic which leads him on done a path unlike anything he or his parents planned or imagined. Pearl Abraham writes a thought provoking story about decisions that seem insignificant at the time but when combined together change the course of one young man's life. Why I was Interested: I was in the mood for something different, so I decided to deviate from my to be read list and browse the shelves at the library. I was drawn to the title and cover art on this book. The cover combines a patriotic color scheme with both American and Islamic symbols and icons. Charles Bock's, author of Beautiful Children, blurb on the back cover also spoke to me. In the end his blurb summed up the book perfectly:When I glanced at the title of this book, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I had no clue. American Taliban is so much more than just the story of an American kid who ends up joining the Taliban. John Jude is a superb literary creation: the smart, generous, open-minded teenager that every parent would be proud to raise. Well-written to the point where you can't put the damn thing down, American Taliban is empathetic, enlightening, and frightening all at once, a story that not only opens your eyes but gives you ideas to learn from, viewpoints to argue with. it is a rare delight to be given a novel that actually makes you think, rarer still to have a book utterly rip open your heart. American Taliban is that rarest of accomplishments, one that does both at the same time. ~from the back cover, Charles Bock, author of Beautiful ChildrenWhy I finished it: Admittedly I almost stopped reading American Taliban because I was beginning to feel intellectually inferior to John. He was so motivated to learn and always chose options to challenge himself and learn. But instead of giving up on it, I decided to take the challenge of this book and learn from John. I'd share it with: People looking for a contemporary fiction book that will challenge the way they think. I think everyone should read this book, but fear that not many will and may even find it intimidating. I think this book would be great for discussion, maybe even a community or campus read. I also think this would be of interest to older teens (17+). Other books to try: While this is very different then The Kite Runner, I think people who liked it would also like American Taliban. It is similar in that readers learn about Islam and Afghan and Pakistani culture.