American Dervish Audiobook By Ayad Akhtar cover art

American Dervish

A Novel

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

American Dervish

By: Ayad Akhtar
Narrated by: Ayad Akhtar
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.19

Buy for $25.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Audie Award Nominee, Narration by the Author or Authors, 2013

Hayat Shah was captivated by Mina long before he met her: his mother's beautiful, brilliant, and soulfully devout friend is a family legend. When he learns that Mina is leaving Pakistan to live with the Shahs in America, Hayat is thrilled.

Hayat's father is less enthusiastic. He left the fundamentalist world behind with reason. What no one expects is that when Mina shows Hayat the beauty and power of the Quran, it will utterly transform the boy.

Mina's real magic may be that the Shah household, always contentious and sad, becomes a happy one. But when Mina finds her own path to happiness, the ember of jealousy in Hayat's heart is enflamed by the community's anti-Semitism-and he acts with catastrophic consequences for those he loves most.

©2011 Ayad Akhtar (P)2011 Hachette Audio Coming of Age Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction World Literature Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Tearjerking

Critic reviews

" [A] heartfelt first novel.... Akhtar's characters drive a story that's compelling and believable even at its most alien. American Dervish offers a rich look at a nearby world that many Americans don't know nearly enough about." ( Entertainment)
"Loss of innocence-sexual, of course, but also cultural and religious-is the subject of Ayad Akhtar's poignant American Dervish, set in a Muslim-American community in the early 1980s.... With characters full of contradictions and complexity, this debut novel is refreshing for its lack of the political and religious hand-wringing so common in the post-9/11 world. But it's also resonantly familiar in its depiction of youthful obsession and the desire to belong." ( O, the Oprah Magazine)
"a compelling debut with a family drama centered on questions of religious and ethnic identity.... Engaging and accessible, thoughtful without being daunting: This may be the novel that brings Muslim-American fiction into the commercial mainstream." ( Kirkus, Starred Review)
Compelling Narrative • Cultural Insights • Thought-provoking Themes • Authentic Representation • Skilled Voice Acting
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
This is one of the best books I have read this year! Extremely well written and thought-provoking. The author makes you feel as if you are in the home of the Shah family. I don’t k ow much about the Muslim faith but the story paints a picture of the challenges we all face to understand and follow our beliefs. It is especially poignant from the perspective of an adolescent Young man trying to do the right thing and the harsh reality when he makes the wrong choices.

Amazing Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The author and narrator gives an extraordinary performance revealing how religion affects life as an American-Pakistani.

Highly Recommend!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Where does American Dervish rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Withthe author narrating his own works it was possible to truly hear the inflection and tone he was attempting to create in his writing.

The author's narration makes the story poingnant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was so engaging I made time to listen to it and listened through to the end. I have had close friends from Pakistan so I picked it up to better understand their culture. I ended up learning a lot.

Good novel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What about Ayad Akhtar’s performance did you like?

Because of Mr. Akhtar's background and the fact that he is also a wonderful actor, his performance is completely involving, his accents spot on. You really feel as if you come to know the people inhabiting this book.

Who was the most memorable character of American Dervish and why?

The character of Meena, the

Any additional comments?

This is a book to live in, full of insights and beautifully told. It's one of the best books I've listened to in ages.

a complex, rewarding book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I felt like a fly on the wall in the kitchen of a Muslim family pressed on both sides by traditional Muslim practices/customs and shifting values. I wish I could sit at more tables like that. I know very little behind the scenes about Muslim customs, particularly as they affect women, and to see it impact a specific family was very interesting. What a great play this would make.

MORE PLEASE?
.

A fly on the wall in someone's kitchen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This story held my interest all the way through. The characters were so well developed I thought this was a true story. I felt compassion for each person’s situation. I found it intelligent and gripping The author gave such insights to each misunderstanding and complexity. It made me think and it made me feel. This story will linger with me for some time to come

Interesting story with amazing narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
didn't expect much but this was something else... from beginning to the end, just amazing

Outstanding! simply outstanding!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The best book of the year. And I read a lot! Thank you to the author, and encouragement to write more!

Best book of the year

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This little novel stunned me into immobility,and until I finished the epiloge I was in the world of Pakistani newcomers in the midwest. When I refer to the novel as "little" I am only referring to its length. It is a powerful big story of family, faith, love, hate and all the universal themes that make good fiction the moral compass for the 21st century. I have searched for a novel that could give the reader a look at what it is like to be a Muslim in America. Although that is too large a task for one little Muslim community, it does give the curious a direction to follow.It doesn't suprise me that the reader is the author.This is one of the most riveting performaces I have ever enjoyed. Please read this book.

Compelling performance and story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews