From bestselling and National Book Award–nominated author
Tahereh Mafi comes a stunning novel about love and loneliness, navigating the
hyphen of dual identity, and reclaiming your right to joy—even when you're
trapped in the amber of sorrow.
It's 2003, several months since the US officially declared
war on Iraq, and the American political world has evolved. Tensions are
high, hate crimes are on the rise, FBI agents are infiltrating local
mosques, and the Muslim community is harassed and targeted more than
ever. Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down.
She's too busy drowning in her own troubles to find the time
to deal with bigots.
Shadi is named for joy, but she's haunted by sorrow. Her
brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best
friend has mysteriously dropped out of her life. And then, of course, there's
the small matter of her heart—
It's broken.
Shadi tries to navigate her crumbling world by soldiering
through, saying nothing. She devours her own pain, each day retreating
farther and farther inside herself until finally, one day, everything
changes.
She explodes.
An Emotion of Great Delight is a searing look
into the world of a single Muslim family in the wake of 9/11. It's
about a child of immigrants forging a blurry identity, falling in love,
and finding hope—in the midst of a modern war.
