Description
Book SynopsisIslamophobia and the Novel analyzes how recent works of fiction have framed and responded to the rise of anti-Muslim prejudice alongside changing concepts of cultural difference. Peter Morey offers readings of novels that show how their portrayal of difference both reflects and refutes the ideological preoccupations of the post-9/11 West.
Trade ReviewWith his characteristic brilliance and integrity, Peter Morey, a noted public intellectual, illustrates the impact of surging Islamophobia on mainstream literature in this masterful study. A man whose career has centered on building bridges between divided cultures, his is a voice to heed in these confusing and troubled times. -- Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University
In a series of brilliantly astute and subtle readings, Peter Morey shows us how the contemporary novel has the capacity to expose the rifts and contradictions in Islamophobic discourses, thereby unsettling conventional frames for seeing Islam and Muslims. Paving the way for what Morey calls a ‘critical Muslim literary studies’,
Islamophobia and the Novel is a work of outstanding scholarship, a vital book for the times we live in. -- Rehana Ahmed, Queen Mary University of London
If you’ve ever wondered why Muslim characters always seem so poorly imagined in so much contemporary fiction in English, Peter Morey has the answers for you.
Islamophobia and the Novel is not only a lucid account of how Muslim characters get stuck in a spider’s web of representation. It is also a handbook for how to break free. -- Moustafa Bayoumi, Brooklyn College
A persuasive, theoretically grounded analysis of the state of literary novels in English dealing with the Muslim world and the West’s responses to (and uses of) Islamophobia. * Choice *
Morey builds to that key conclusion with clarity. Understanding where literature stands in relation to Islamophobia is an initial and important step toward diminishing it. * Modern Philology *
Strenuously researched and convincing...
Islamophobia and the Novel invites us to understand the disquieting truths how Islamophobia is disseminated through discourse of representation, and how contemporary fiction has contributed to it. Morey’s remarkable research and his unbiased literary judgements push us to think afresh. * Wasafiri *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction—Islamophobia: The Word and the World
1. Islam, Culture, and Anarchy: Faith, Doubt, and Liberalism in Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, and John Updike
2. From Multiculturalism to Islamophobia: Identity Politics and Individualism in Hanif Kureishi and Monica Ali
3. Muslim Misery Memoirs: The Truth Claims of Exotic Suffering in Azar Nafisi and Khaled Hosseini
4. Migrant Cartographies: Islamophobia and the Politics of the City Space in Amy Waldman and H. M. Naqvi
5. States of Statelessness: Islamophobia and Border Spaces in the Post-9/11 Thrillers of John Le Carré, Dan Fesperman, and Richard Flanagan
6. Islamophobia and the Global Novel: “Worlding” History in Nadeem Aslam and Kamila Shamsie
7. Marketing the Muslim: Globalization and the Postsecular in Mohsin Hamid and Leila Aboulela
Conclusion—Toward a Critical Muslim Literary Studies
Notes
Bibliography
Index
