
This Life or the Next
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Assaf Cohen
From award-winning author Demian Vitanza comes a groundbreaking novel - his first to be translated into English - about one man’s alienation, radicalization, and disillusionment on the violent front lines in Syria.
Tariq Khan is a Pakistani born and raised in Norway. An outsider in his own country - adrift between two worlds divided by class, race, and culture - he’s always been searching for home. Alongside a flock of other streetwise young men, each looking for direction and each easily susceptible, Tariq finds his cause in the Muslim revival.
Idealistic, driven by faith, and empowered with purpose, he’s drawn to radical Islam - his last resort for achieving a sense of belonging, for embracing and being embraced. It’s only when he enlists in the war against Assad that Tariq’s eyes are truly opened. Dispirited with the violence, faced with the consequences of his choices, and increasingly distanced by the brutalities of jihad, Tariq contends with spiritual struggles that are his alone. So are the stories he will tell to make sense of his life.
In this daring and unprecedented work of literary fiction, Demian Vitanza explores the power of memory, the lure of rebellion, the search for meaning amid chaos - and the toll that such a journey can take before finally finding one’s way home.
©2017 Demian Vitanza (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2018 by Tanya ThresherListeners also enjoyed...




















The main character, who is supposedly based on a real person that the author met while leading writing workshops in a Norwegian prison, is maybe not so bright (or at least not good in school), with an ethnicity that makes him stand out and one parent incarcerated. He starts to finally find meaning in religion and ends up fighting for ISIS.
The format of the book is as a kind of monologue, with the addition of some direct addresses to the author/scribe. These direct addresses, rather than having the effect of taking me out of the story, helped me really believe that this was a real person telling his story.
If you are interested in how ISIS managed to lure so many westerners to its cause, or how even in Scandinavia racism and lack of opportunity can impact society, check this out.
Radicalization in Scandinavia
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a pretty powerful study of a young Muslim male
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Not what I expected or wished
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Very Entertaining Book
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Compelling story but feels bogged down at times
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This life or the next
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Unrealistic and silly story
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