American Dervish (Paperback)

A terrific first novel, warm and wise. - Kate Saunders, THE TIMES

this book is prescient and timely in both recognising and dramatically exploring this increasingly unbreachable social divide. - ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS

his dialogue is free-flowing and natural, and he has a good eye for small visual details within a scene that colour the mood of the action around them. - Alan Morrison, THE HERALD

Both extremists and the ambivalent are accorded even-handed coverage and the characterisation is strong - Catherine Taylor, THE GUARDIAN

American Dervish is an extraordinary novel and one you certainly won't regret reading - Roddy Ashworth, SUNDAY EXPRESS

Akhtar proves the capacity of the great American stories to be endlessly renewed by each generation of writers - Claire Allfree, METRO

There are themes here reminiscent of The Go-Between by L.P.Hartley and Ian McEwan's more recent Atonement, of a life scarred by chame at a childish act that has catastrophic consequences in adult life. - TLS

American Dervish is about the collision of cultures, identity and religion in 1980s America. - BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH

a pleasing read - THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

Ayad Akhtar's first novel is deftly plotted, with a frame narrative that shows how Hayat's sense of shame pursues him into adulthood. There are shades of Ian McEwan's Atonement, but Akhtar's writing has a crisp, imagistic quality all its own. - THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY