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A Good Country
- Author
- Laleh Khadivi
- Narrator
- Assaf Cohen
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 23 May 2017
- Run Time
- 8 hours 55 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
A timely novel about the radicalization of a Muslim teen in California—about where identity truly lies, and how we find it
Laguna Beach, California, 2010. Reza Courdee, a fourteen-year-old straight-A student and chemistry whiz, takes his first hit of pot. In as long as it takes to inhale and exhale, he is transformed from the high-achieving son of Iranian immigrants into a happy-go-lucky stoner. He loses his virginity, takes up surfing, and sneaks away to all-night raves. For the first time, Reza—now Rez—feels like an American teen. Life is smooth; even lying to his strict parents comes easily.
But then he changes again, falling out with the bad boy surfers and in with a group of kids more awake to the world around them, who share his background, and whose ideas fill him with a very different sense of purpose. Within a year, Reza and his girlfriend are making their way to Syria to be part of a Muslim nation rising from the ashes of the civil war.
Timely, nuanced, and emotionally forceful, A Good Country is a gorgeous meditation on modern life, religious radicalization, and a young man caught among vastly different worlds. What we are left with at the dramatic end is not an assessment of good or evil, east versus west, but a lingering question that applies to all modern souls: Do we decide how to live, or is our life decided for us?
Critics Review
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“Khadivi charts the psychological transformation of a teenager, Rez, from the high-achieving son of prosperous Iranian immigrants to Islamist radical…The story suggests radicalization is less a political problem than one of a deep need to belong.”
New York Times
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“An expertly crafted coming-of-age story about radicalization and cultural integration…The narrative is tense and dramatic.”
Guardian (London)
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“Brilliant…[an] affecting portrait of how radicalization can happen to an ordinary American, profoundly altering him.”
San Francisco Chronicle
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“In scene after vibrant scene, [Khadivi] suggests the forces that turn individuals into radicals…[and] delivers an unusual and thought-provoking look at the process.”
Mercury News (San Jose, California)
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“You won’t want the book to end. You will want to follow Rez. You will want to hear what happens next. A brilliant novel about a young man’s reckoning with a flawed and violent world.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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“Brilliantly channeling the minds of angst-filled teenagers with barely formed worldviews who seesaw between brash self-confidence and deflating insecurities…An important, smart, timely novel.”
Library Journal (starred review)
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“The story unfolds deftly, beautifully capturing the psychology of an American teen who goes down the path of radicalization; readers will understand what would motivate a sheltered, shortsighted young person to run away to join extremists.
School Library Journal (starred review)
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“Khadivi’s carefully crafted, masterful novel illustrates how the perfect storm of teenage cruelty, racism, and tragedy can create an extremist.”
Booklist (starred review)
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“Stunning…This is a heartbreaking coming-of-age story about the world we live in now.”
Publishers Weekly
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Laleh Khadivi
- Narrator
- Assaf Cohen
- Duration
- 8 hours 55 minutes
- Release Date
- 23 May 2017
- ISBN
- 9781470862145
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Fiction: general and literary, Narrative theme: Coming of age
Synopsis
A timely novel about the radicalization of a Muslim teen in California—about where identity truly lies, and how we find itLaguna Beach, California, 2010. Reza Courdee, a fourteen-year-old straight-A student and chemistry whiz, takes his first hit of pot. In as long as it takes to inhale and exhale, he is transformed from the high-achieving son of Iranian immigrants into a happy-go-lucky stoner. He loses his virginity, takes up surfing, and sneaks away to all-night raves. For the first time, Reza—now Rez—feels like an American teen. Life is smooth; even lying to his strict parents comes easily.But then he changes again, falling out with the bad boy surfers and in with a group of kids more awake to the world around them, who share his background, and whose ideas fill him with a very different sense of purpose. Within a year, Reza and his girlfriend are making their way to Syria to be part of a Muslim nation rising from the ashes of the civil war.Timely, nuanced, and emotionally forceful, A Good Country is a gorgeous meditation on modern life, religious radicalization, and a young man caught among vastly different worlds. What we are left with at the dramatic end is not an assessment of good or evil, east versus west, but a lingering question that applies to all modern souls: Do we decide how to live, or is our life decided for us?
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