American dervish, by Ayad Akhtar

Ten-year-old Hayat Shah is the only child of Pakistani immigrants who live in Milwaukee.  His father, a physician, drinks, is a womanizer, and has nothing but distain for organized Islam.  His mother, who is vaguely unhappy in America, and much less vaguely unhappy with her philandering husband, is somewhat more religious but doesn’t practice it or wear a veil.  Her best friend in Pakistan, Mina, was a gifted student but has ended up in a bad arranged marriage.  Her husband divorces her when their son is born, saying that he will reclaim the child when he is seven.  Mina and her son Imran leave and travel to live with the Shahs in Milwaukee.  Hayat is very taken with his new “auntie,” who is beautiful and whose presence makes both his mother very happy and his parent’s marriage more peaceful.  Mina begins to instruct him in Islam and he finds it fascinating largely because of her interest in it and in his progress.  When his father brings his Jewish research partner, Nathan, to a meal in their home, Mina and Nathan are immediately smitten with each other.  As their relationship progresses, and Hayat’s own religious studies (which are forbidden by his father) intensify, Nathan decides to convert to Islam and marry Mina.  By this time, Hayat is twelve and in the confused throes of sexual awakening, love for Mina, and the kind of intense religiosity that sometimes comes in adolescence.  He makes a decision that sets in motion a chain of events that will have life-changing consequences.  352 pp.