Terrorist
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Product Description
Product Description
In his extraordinary and highly charged new novel, John Updike tackles one of America's most burning issues – the threat of Islamist terror from within. Set in contemporary New Jersey, Terrorist traces the journey of one young man, from radicalism to fundamentalism to terrorism, against the backdrop of a fraying urban landscape and an increasingly fragmented community. In beautiful prose, Updike dramatizes the logic of the fundamentalist terrorist – but also suggests ways in which we can counter it, in our words and our actions . . .
About the Author
John Updike was born in 1932, in Shillington, Pennsylvania. From 1955 to 1957 he was a member of the staff of the New Yorker, to which he has contributed poems, short stories, essays and reviews. Since 1957 he has lived in Massachusetts. His novels have won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Howells Medal.
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First Sentence
DEVILS, Ahmad thinks. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
DEVILS, Ahmad thinks. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Terrorist masterfully depicts the life of a young man caught in a circle whose intrigues he never really understood but unfortunately committed himself to the futile path. In many ways he mirrors the character of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, or Gavin in Triple Agent Double Cross. A must read to have a better grasp of today's man of terror, especially with the tons of extremist groups out there.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
After every attack on the United States, waves of paranoia have swept the nation. If we go back through these attacks since the American Revolution, we find a consistent history though that those who were born in the country that did the attacking but live in the U.S. are loyal to America. In part the paranoia builds because politicians and the media make hay from such fears. Eventually, everyone calms down and sees their fear is exaggerated.
As I read John Updike's book, I kept thinking that this was a book designed to explain what doesn't appear to be the case . . . a native-born American becoming a terrorist who follows Islamic beliefs to pursue Jihad. From the beginning, the premise didn't ring true. And the story itself rang even less true.
If you can get past that point, you still have to deal with Mr. Updike trying to describe something that's very different from his own cultural experiences. Mr. Updike seems to have worked hard at it, but again his depictions of the characters don't ring true to me.
Here's the story in a nutshell. A young man, Ahmad Ashmaway Mulloy, decides to identify with his absent father's Egyptian heritage while being raised by his round-heeled Irish-American mother with whom he doesn't feel very connected or comfortable. The identity becomes centered on practicing Islam. At the local mosque, he's encouraged to stop his education after high school to become a truck driver. Depressed guidance counselor, Jack Levy, tries to dissuade Ahmad, but only succeeds in becoming his mother's lover. Ahmad is introduced to the Chehab family, whose furniture store needs a new driver. Pretty soon, he's being sounded out for his feelings about Jihad. In the background, he has an ineffective attempt to become friends with a young African-American woman, Joryleen Grant, whose boyfriend and protector, Tylenol, is on Ahmad's case. Jack's sister-in-law is high in the Homeland Security apparatus which provides a "How are we going to stop them?" perspective to story.
Ironically, the best parts of the book involve quoting from the Qur'an and describing Ahmad's reactions to the passages. The next best parts come in the occasional uses of humor, such as when Charlie Chehab decides to call Ahmad, "Madman."
But if you want to scare yourself about native-born Americans joining up with al-Qaeda, this is your book.
As I read John Updike's book, I kept thinking that this was a book designed to explain what doesn't appear to be the case . . . a native-born American becoming a terrorist who follows Islamic beliefs to pursue Jihad. From the beginning, the premise didn't ring true. And the story itself rang even less true.
If you can get past that point, you still have to deal with Mr. Updike trying to describe something that's very different from his own cultural experiences. Mr. Updike seems to have worked hard at it, but again his depictions of the characters don't ring true to me.
Here's the story in a nutshell. A young man, Ahmad Ashmaway Mulloy, decides to identify with his absent father's Egyptian heritage while being raised by his round-heeled Irish-American mother with whom he doesn't feel very connected or comfortable. The identity becomes centered on practicing Islam. At the local mosque, he's encouraged to stop his education after high school to become a truck driver. Depressed guidance counselor, Jack Levy, tries to dissuade Ahmad, but only succeeds in becoming his mother's lover. Ahmad is introduced to the Chehab family, whose furniture store needs a new driver. Pretty soon, he's being sounded out for his feelings about Jihad. In the background, he has an ineffective attempt to become friends with a young African-American woman, Joryleen Grant, whose boyfriend and protector, Tylenol, is on Ahmad's case. Jack's sister-in-law is high in the Homeland Security apparatus which provides a "How are we going to stop them?" perspective to story.
Ironically, the best parts of the book involve quoting from the Qur'an and describing Ahmad's reactions to the passages. The next best parts come in the occasional uses of humor, such as when Charlie Chehab decides to call Ahmad, "Madman."
But if you want to scare yourself about native-born Americans joining up with al-Qaeda, this is your book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was so looking forward to reading this book as it had all the ingredients of a really great novel. It follows a Muslim boy as he struggles in an America he feels to be corrupt and sinful. There are many great observations in the book and these are probably what makes it worth reading. But for me at least, it fell far short of fulfilling its promise of explaining what exactly leads people to take extreme action in the name of religion, nor did it deliver the edge-of-your-seat conclusion I had hoped for.
I struggled to finish the book because I lost interest very early on, but I did soldier on to find out what happened in the end.
I'm afraid I don't recommend this book ... there are just too many good reads out there at the moment to waste time on this one (in my humble opinion)!
I struggled to finish the book because I lost interest very early on, but I did soldier on to find out what happened in the end.
I'm afraid I don't recommend this book ... there are just too many good reads out there at the moment to waste time on this one (in my humble opinion)!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Curse of the Koran clearly illustrated
The sheer awfulness of the Koran, and its paradoxically beguiling nature, are well expressed in this story. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rowland Nelken
It could have been a tour de force
Firstly, this book has provoked some fantastic differences of opinion, see Amazon US, as well as the reviews here, to see what I mean. Read more
Published on 2 May 2010 by J. Byrne
Terrorist
I was disappointed with this read. The streams of consciousness were ponderous and overdone and flowed so very very slowly. Read more
Published on 2 July 2009 by B. D. Rayner
Terrorist - Updike
The main character - the potential suicide bomber - is simply not believable, and since the main aim of the novel is apparently to help us understand how such a terrorist may come... Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2009 by Derek J. Taylor
John Updike and The Mind of a Terrorirst.
"Devils" Ahmad thinks. "These devils seek to take away my God. All day long at Central High School, girls sway and sneer and expose their soft bodies and alluring hair. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2008 by K.N. Hatton
Our greatest living writer on top form.
With Terrorist, the post 9/11 world has finally sparked John Updike into a motive dynamism more commonly found in the much tougher oeuvres of Mailer, Bellow and Roth. Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2007 by S. Crawford
Our greatest living writer and on best form.
With Terrorist, the post 9/11 world has finally sparked John Updike into a motive dynamism more commonly found in the much tougher oeuvres of Mailer, Bellow and Roth. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2007 by S. Crawford
Still mulling it over!
This is possibly the best book I've read so far this year. I would like to know what goes through the mind of a young person who lays down his life for what he believes in. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2007 by Iain Clark
top-quality writing, but not a thriller
As in the case of the science-fiction book Toward the End of Time, Terrorist sees Updike wearing what another reviewer called an 'ill-fitting coat'. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2007 by Gareth Power
A Work of Imagination That Doesn't Ring True
After every attack on the United States, waves of paranoia have swept the nation. If we go back through these attacks since the American Revolution, we find a consistent history... Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2007 by Donald Mitchell
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