Homeland Elegies: A Novel

How valid is the concept of the much-heralded American Dream in today’s world? Is it still possible to defy race, gender, and economic status to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps?”

What responsibility, if any, does the United States bear in the creation of terrorist groups in the Middle East? Research the funding of the mujahideen tribal groups and the subsequent abandonment of their weapons in forming your answer.

What similarities do you see across the racial/religious divide between white Americans and Muslim Americans? Similarities between the poor in America and the poor in Pakistan? What universal statement about humanity is Akhtar making with these comparisons?

How did the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 drastically change the lives of Muslim Americans?

Sikander is pro-American and critical of Pakistan, while Fatima is intimately tied to their homeland. How is Ayad a reflection of both parents and their beliefs?

In Chapter 5, Riaz Rind says “In this country, the white majority is basically blind to the worst in themselves. They see themselves in the image of their best, and they see us in the image of our worst” (139). Do you agree with his assessment? Does the very concept of a majority make the subjugation of a minority inevitable?

The persona Akhtar creates shares his name and career, but many of the other characters are fictional. How does Akhtar’s decision to craft Homeland Elegies as a novel instead of a memoir cause the reader to question his presentation of bias, culture, and politics?

In Chapter 7, Mike Jacobs recalls his father’s close friendship with Robert Bork despite their ideological differences. How possible is it to be friends with others of opposing political viewpoints in today’s world, with its sharp divides in belief and practice? Has America changed to the point where such conversations are no longer possible?