Description
‘A subversive debut… Her spiky prose style provocatively undercuts received narratives about the “American dream” from the immigrant’s perspective.’ Guardian
‘When I finished reading the novel, I was filled with gratitude for finding this brilliant voice from our country at the start of her career… Dur e Aziz Amna is a writer that every Pakistani should be reading.’ The News
On a year-long exchange programme in rural Oregon, sixteen-year-old Hira must swap Kashmiri chai for volleyball practice and understand why everyone around her seems to dislike Obama. An unforgettably witty narrator, Hira finds herself stuck between worlds. The experience is memorable for reasons both good and bad; a first kiss, new friends, racism, Islamophobia, homesickness. Along the way Hira starts to feel increasingly unwell until she begins coughing up blood, and receives a diagnosis of tuberculosis, pushing her into quarantine and turning her newly-established world upside down.
‘American Fever is a beautifully written book… Hira [is] a narrator whose insight and skepticism is addictive… Excellent’ Tribune Magazine
‘Completely engrossing… Amna’s prose moves along quickly and Hira’s appraisal of the people and places she encounters is sharp and untarnished by tact. At times, her wit and judgement land like the crack of a whip and leave you both laughing and uncomfortable.’ Dawn
