Homeland Elegies
| Author | Ayad Akhtar |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 368 pages |
| ISBN | 978-0316496421 |
Homeland Elegies is a 2020 novel by author Ayad Akhtar. The novel received positive reviews, and was a finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
Writing and background
The book is a novel, though written to resemble a memoir.[1] The book includes some autobiographical elements; the protagonist shares the name, background, and career of the author.[1] It has been referred to as autofiction.[2] The book was inspired by a lawsuit against Akhtar's father and the recent political history of the United States,[3] including the election of Donald Trump.[4]
Reception
Critical reception
Dwight Garner, in his review of the book for the New York Times, praised the book as "[...] a beautiful novel about an American son and his immigrant father [...]". Garner perceived "echoes" of The Great Gatsby in Homeland Elegies.[5] Rafia Zakaria, writing for the Boston Globe, compared the work favorably to the novels and memoir of Salman Rushdie.[6]
Honors
The novel is a finalist for the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.[7]
The book was named by the New York Times, Slate, and other publications as one of the best books of 2020.[8][9]
References
- ^ a b Butler, Isaac (7 December 2020). "Seeking the Truth About Trump's America by Blurring Fact and Fiction". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Elgrably, Jordan (10 November 2020). "Trump Derangement Syndrome, or How I Learned to Love America: On Ayad Akhtar's "Homeland Elegies"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Elgenaidi, Deena (17 September 2020). ""Homeland Elegies" Examines What It Means to Be Muslim American Post-9/11". Electric Literature. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Rebolini, Arianna (18 September 2020). ""Because I'm Muslim, I Must Be Writing About Muslims. I'm Trying To Write About This Country." A Conversation With Ayad Akhtar". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Garner, Dwight (14 September 2020). "With Wit and Anger, Ayad Akhtar Addresses What It Means to Be American". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Zakaria, Rafia (10 September 2020). "A glimpse of Rushdie's children in 'Homeland Elegies' - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "ALA Unveils 2021 Carnegie Medals Shortlist". American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "The 10 Best Books of 2020". The New York Times. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Miller, Laura (10 December 2020). "The Best Books of 2020". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
 | This article about a 2020s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |