Ayad Akhtar is best known as a playwright, so it should come as no surprise that the best parts of this "novel" come in the dialogue. Akhtar has Big Ideas to convey about the nature of the American Dream, for immigrants and Muslims in particular, and he puts those ideas into the mouths of his conflicted characters. His father, his mother, his college professor, his benefactor: they all have distinct world views that flow from a unique insight. Those insights are mostly thought-provoking and usually arise naturally based on the action of the story. However, the characters (and their Weltanschauungen) don't interact with each other, making the overall book feel disjointed.
I put the word "novel" in quotes because the book takes the form of a lightly(?) fictionalized memoir or essay collection. It believe Ahktar could take one more pass over the material and integrate it into an awesome play.
One other thing: While Ahktar generally creates rounded characters, he presents himself with a less critical eye. He comes across as a passive character shaped by others' ideas, which seems disingenuous. He mentions several times that people find his plays controversial and problematic, but willfully ignores any investigation of why that might be.
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