Homeland Elegies: A Novel

Sikander, Ayad’s father, is a talented Pakistani cardiologist who came to America as a young man. He is often clouded by rose-colored glasses in regards to his new home. Sikander’s obsession with the American Dream manifests in negative ways: He gambles the family money on trite investments, models all the negative qualities of his hero—Donald Trump—and makes grave errors in judgment when his practice is taken over by a large corporation.

Sikander’s unrelenting support of America as a utopia creates a divide between him and his wife and son—who are both able to see their home’s faults. This gap widens as Sikander pursues what he thinks will make him a “true” American—affairs and illegitimate children—proving his ignorance of American virtues bar what he sees on television. Still, his view is shared by many immigrants: He seeks a better life than that of his homeland, and he believes he found it. Though America’s corporate greed leads to Sikander’s undoing, forcing him to return to his native Pakistan, he still values America for what it gave him. Like Ayad, Sikander’s rose-colored glasses come off by the end of the novel, as he knows he was trying to be something he could never be.

Ayad’s mother, Fatima, came to America as a young Pakistani doctor seeking new opportunities. Unlike her husband, Fatima never finds comfort and solace in her new country and misses Pakistan. Like Professor Moroni, she sees America’s dark side: the materialism, the prejudice, the hatred for anyone whom the majority views as inferior. She hates that her son is a product of America, and this leaves Ayad feeling like his mother never truly understood him.

Fatima knows she married the wrong man, as she and Sikander often clash in their desires; she wishes to return to Pakistan while he is in love with America. Sikander’s affairs prove to Fatima that America creates “inferior” men; the love of her life, Latif, never bought into American superiority and eventually dies for it. When Fatima is diagnosed and slowly succumbs to cancer, Sikander treats her with love and respect—but it is already too late for them.

Professor Moroni, coined “the finest mind of her generation” (xv), introduces Ayad to the probability that America might not be perfect. A lesbian in her early 30s, Moroni is no stranger to controversies and their fallout, but she is not easily swayed by the opinions of the majority. Though a young Ayad cannot understand Moroni’s opinion that America is overly worshiped, it is her teachings that stay with him throughout his adult life and shape him into a critical thinker. Her insight into subconscious thinking—and her technique of sleeping with a pen in hand so one can write their dreams upon awakening, a technique that Ayad often uses—prove to Ayad that everyone harbors some kind of resentment underneath the surface. By the time Professor Moroni sees Ayad again, the latter experienced enough to prove her original statement true.

“Uncle” Latif, as Ayad calls him, immigrated to America with Sikander and Fatima. The three met in medical school, and he and Fatima instantly fell in love—but he was already engaged to someone else. Latif never truly embraces America as Sikander does, finding it impossible to be himself in his new country. He holds on to his Muslim faith and identity and does not allow himself to give in to the lavish American lifestyle. Over the years, this weighs heavily on him: He recognizes America’s crimes against its own and the Middle East and decides to help poor minorities often forgotten by their government.

Eventually, Latif cannot reconcile being American and Pakistani any longer and moves his family back to his native country. He begins to see America in a negative light, as a world power that abuses other countries in its pursuit of material gain. Latif later joins Al Qaeda and is murdered in an American raid, despite being an American citizen. Like Fatima, Latif could easily see through American’s illusion of superiority—his fight against it costing him his life.

Riaz Rind is a billionaire hedge fund investor who takes a liking to Ayad after learning of his play, Disgraced. A “foremost collector of rare Kentucky bourbons and Japanese whiskeys” (122), Rind is an enigma, an exceedingly successful Muslim American who rose to the top and frequently spends his time among the most famous of celebrities and politicians.

A pragmatic and cutthroat businessman, Rind is attuned to human nature and tends to change himself based on people’s reactions, making him more of a “chameleon” than a person. Ayad is both intrigued and confused by him; regardless, Rind represents the pinnacle of success for any Muslim in America—and it is Rind who teaches Ayad that money is the root of all power. Without it, brown-skinned people like he and Ayad fall victim to majority rule and discrimination. However, it becomes clear to Ayad that Rind’s plan is one of vengeance and control—he seeks to eliminate the futures of those who act against Muslims. Though Ayad learns much from Rind (and earns a fortune along the way), he can never truly be like him in his moral grayness.