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This Life or the Next
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 from the brutalities of jihad, Tariq’s spiritual struggle is now 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.
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 from the brutalities of jihad, Tariq’s spiritual struggle is now 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.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2017
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About the author
Demian Vitanza
10 books30 followersMarco Demian Vitanza (f. 1983) er halvt italiensk, han har vokst opp i Halden, har en master fra London School of Economics og har gått på Aschehougs dramaskole. Eller som han selv liker å si: Marco Demian Vitanza er en ansamling mennesker som bor i samme kropp. "Urak" er deres første bok.
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November 6, 2024
The story of a rebel fighter in Syria telling his story to Vitanza and Vitanza writing it down for us.
Stark, cautious words on a page which make me think about what is being left unsaid and why. But mostly also about why it is these words on the page and not others? And this question is the most important of all because it determines how we are living now in this Europe and where our future is going. Because people are moving from one place to another, one culture to another and it is ridiculous to ignore this and turn our heads away as if these people are not here because they are and it is extremely foolish in my opinion not to acknowledge that. If you have an unacknowledged person in your house, who also pays part of the bills, then we cannot act surprised if that person talks, has wants, needs, oh yes just like us. And a failure to acknowledge that is a failure in basic humanity and a failure which we are paying for. It is so easy to forget what it means to be on the other side, to be the one in the new place, the outsider.
Words have a different weight in prison - Demian Vitanza
Stark, cautious words on a page which make me think about what is being left unsaid and why. But mostly also about why it is these words on the page and not others? And this question is the most important of all because it determines how we are living now in this Europe and where our future is going. Because people are moving from one place to another, one culture to another and it is ridiculous to ignore this and turn our heads away as if these people are not here because they are and it is extremely foolish in my opinion not to acknowledge that. If you have an unacknowledged person in your house, who also pays part of the bills, then we cannot act surprised if that person talks, has wants, needs, oh yes just like us. And a failure to acknowledge that is a failure in basic humanity and a failure which we are paying for. It is so easy to forget what it means to be on the other side, to be the one in the new place, the outsider.
Words have a different weight in prison - Demian Vitanza
January 5, 2019
In 2015, Demian Vitanza was working in Norway’s Halden Prison when he met a young Norwegian-Pakistani man serving a sentence for terrorist activities. Vitanza spent over 100 hours interviewing him, and this remarkably compelling book is a fictionalised account of those conversations. In the novel, the young man is named Tariq Khan. He’s been living a very westernised life, partying, drugs, girls, in general enjoying himself, but then gradually this hedonistic life-style starts to pall and he becomes increasingly drawn to the certainties of Islam, eventually becoming radicalized and travelling to Syria to undertake jihad. It reminded me of Asne Seierstad’s powerful non-fiction account Two Sisters, girls who follow the same trajectory. The novel is in the form of an interview with an unheard interlocutor, and told in Tariq’s own words in response to the questions posed and all from his point of view. This is an incredibly effective way into the mind-set of a potential terrorist, to see the conflicts he faces, the decisions he makes and how an ordinary assimilated young man can become disillusioned with what the west offers and how the lure of extremism can take hold. Tariq is a disconcertingly empathetic character, in no way a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out of what we assume a terrorist to be, but someone we can’t help feeling some connection with. As the narrative progresses, it becomes increasingly chilling and unsettling, especially knowing that it is based on a true story. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, insightful and balanced, this is an important book which adds to the debate about radicalisation and fundamentalism, and if it humanizes the terrorist, which some readers may object to, at least it shows that there are always more sides to a story than we might at first suppose.
May 8, 2018
A clever way to tell a sad tale of Tariq a Norwegian young man of Pakistan extract who is first a small time drug supplier, than finds Islam and later decides to go to Syria to fight against the Asaad regime. He tells his story whilst in a Norwegian prison.
The story portrays a man who wanted to help the Syrian people but as he was fighting along ISIS/IS types he was, in Norway, a terrorist. What comes through the narrative was the complexity of the various rebel groups, the slow disintegration of their cooperation, the rise of ISIS and the ongoing and complexing brutality of Asaad to his own people.
The narrative sounds as though the author captured Tariq's own voice. It is an effective technique that provides a reality behind Tariq's misunderstood actions against a regime that is completely unable to be understood.
Thanks to Netgalley and AmazonCrossing.
The story portrays a man who wanted to help the Syrian people but as he was fighting along ISIS/IS types he was, in Norway, a terrorist. What comes through the narrative was the complexity of the various rebel groups, the slow disintegration of their cooperation, the rise of ISIS and the ongoing and complexing brutality of Asaad to his own people.
The narrative sounds as though the author captured Tariq's own voice. It is an effective technique that provides a reality behind Tariq's misunderstood actions against a regime that is completely unable to be understood.
Thanks to Netgalley and AmazonCrossing.
May 28, 2019
Amazın'un Dünya Kitap Gününde bedava verdiği kitaplardan biri. Norveççeden İngilizceye çevrilmiş. Yazarın hapishanede ders verirken tanıştığı Pakistan asıllı Norveçli bir gençle yaptığı görüşmelere dayanan bir roman. Nehir söyleşi gibi ama söyleşiyi yapanın sorularına yer verilmemiş, farklı bir tarzı var.
"Carlos and I talked about the injustices of the world and about society not giving us a chance. That was what 2Pac rapped about too—that the system had betrayed you, that you had to fix things yourself. Eat or be eaten. You always need to legitimize your shit even if it’s the worst excuse ever. You need to believe that what you’re doing is right. That you’re an OK guy. That’s what I thought of myself—that I was an OK guy. I don’t know."
"... there was something 2Pac said that I never forgot: if you don’t find something to live for, you should find something to die for. That’s how it was. We didn’t have much to live for. But we’d found something we were willing to die for."
"Because they hate. They hate the police. They hate their parents. They hate the state. They hate Western society. But first and foremost, they hate themselves. They feel like they’re never good enough. So they want to do something good, but they don’t know how."
"... hate is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die."
"Carlos and I talked about the injustices of the world and about society not giving us a chance. That was what 2Pac rapped about too—that the system had betrayed you, that you had to fix things yourself. Eat or be eaten. You always need to legitimize your shit even if it’s the worst excuse ever. You need to believe that what you’re doing is right. That you’re an OK guy. That’s what I thought of myself—that I was an OK guy. I don’t know."
"... there was something 2Pac said that I never forgot: if you don’t find something to live for, you should find something to die for. That’s how it was. We didn’t have much to live for. But we’d found something we were willing to die for."
"Because they hate. They hate the police. They hate their parents. They hate the state. They hate Western society. But first and foremost, they hate themselves. They feel like they’re never good enough. So they want to do something good, but they don’t know how."
"... hate is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die."
September 8, 2019
If you don’t find something to live for, you should find something to die for. That’s how it was. We didn’t have much to live for. But we’d found something we were willing to die for. (p. 121)
This Life or the Next was one of Amazon's offerings on World Book Day. It was written by Demian Vitanza and translated from Norwegian by Tanya Thresher and is based on more than 100 hours of interview with a Norwegian man of Pakistani descent, who traveled to Syria and was imprisoned after his return to Norway for participating in a terror organization and associating with terror (p. 321). Both the author and Tariq fictionalized some events to some degree,
The first part of This Life or the Next described Tariq's adolescence, before converting to Islam. It felt like overly-macho YA literature. I put it away, read a dozen other books, then came back due to a small but unremitting spark of curiosity – and an (unfulfilled) commitment to finish my unread books before I purchased others. One advantage of paper over kindle is that the Reader is very aware of how much is unread currently (I think I have about 50 unread books on my kindle and 8-10 paper next to my bed).
Initially, I compared This Life or the Next unfavorably with Home Fire, which switches among multiple, more educated and privileged narrators. Like Home Fire, This Life or the Next also describes the oppression that put Tariq and others at risk of becoming radicalized.
At the end of junior high I wanted to go on to high school, but the counselor advised me to apply for a vocational school instead. She said there was no point in high school because my GPA was too low. But afterward I found out that people with lower GPAs than me had gotten into high school. (p. 32)
Or society's reaction to Islam and the all-too-frequent equation of Islam with terrorism:
Why is [freedom of speech] being discussed really? I thought it had to be because society wanted to get rid of us. Weed us out. Do you know that feeling, when you realize you’re a weed? (p. 84)
And the portrayal of Muslims in the media:
And the media’s clever; they don’t publish things that don’t fit into their picture of the world. They’re really happy if they can portray Muslims as violent extremists. Who listens to a peaceful demonstration anyway? (p. 86)
This Life or the Next does not attribute Tariq's conversion and decision to do jihad to a single event. Going to a weak school contributed – In the end, I had nothing to lose (p. 32). So did the bullying and ostracizing he received in school and the community. And his feelings of emptiness weren't filled by drugs, MMA, body building, and bullying others.
Frustration and anger were the glue that kept Tariq and his friends together. And, the mosque offered Tariq something positive and life affirming: Y’know, there’s a tenderness in the mosque. People care about each other. That was new to us (p. 78). Tariq increasingly lived his faith, both in good ways and more questionable ones (from my perspective):
What could I say in my defense when I stand in front of God and he asks what I did while my brothers and sisters were being slaughtered? Everything you get is from God after all. Or, at least, that’s what I believe as a Muslim. If you win the lottery, or earn money through hard work, everything is from God, y’know. Life is from God. And when I thought about how lucky I was having grown up in Norway, I suddenly felt guilty. We sat there like cowards. Slack. Lazy. I couldn’t sleep. I felt like I was a munafiq [hypocrite]. When I first thought about leaving, I thought it was what God wanted. That was why he’d put the idea in my head. (p. 112)
Like Home Fire, This Life or the Next offers a more morally-complex story of jihad than I usually see in the US news. Tariq was very ambivalent about his experiences in Syria. He found people who were moral and lived according to Muhammed's teachings, but he also saw others who did not: one rebel group killing others, rumors of the state raping Muslim women, and attacks on civilians. Besides,
I wanted to wake up to the call for prayer and roosters crowing. Go to the mosque early and live a simple life in a place where you could practice Islam without people thinking you were weird. A place where you had a close relationship to your neighbor. For me that’s a healthy society. Actually, I just wanted a stable life. A structure that brings peace to your heart. (p. 212)
What made This Life or the Next work for me is that by its end, Tariq was a moral and likeable man. He had grown from his early, bad days; was motivated to serve Allah and the oppressed; and acknowledged his moral weaknesses and considered and reconsidered his decisions. He was a young, impulsive and impatient man, but he also refused to follow through on the marriage opportunities he had, as he expected that soon he would be a martyr. He could now see beyond his own needs and desires.
A good book opens new doors for me and new perspectives. This Life or the Next did this for me.
You should forgive every night before you go to bed because it could always be your last night, and you don’t want to take any hate from this life to the next (p. 324)
This Life or the Next was one of Amazon's offerings on World Book Day. It was written by Demian Vitanza and translated from Norwegian by Tanya Thresher and is based on more than 100 hours of interview with a Norwegian man of Pakistani descent, who traveled to Syria and was imprisoned after his return to Norway for participating in a terror organization and associating with terror (p. 321). Both the author and Tariq fictionalized some events to some degree,
The first part of This Life or the Next described Tariq's adolescence, before converting to Islam. It felt like overly-macho YA literature. I put it away, read a dozen other books, then came back due to a small but unremitting spark of curiosity – and an (unfulfilled) commitment to finish my unread books before I purchased others. One advantage of paper over kindle is that the Reader is very aware of how much is unread currently (I think I have about 50 unread books on my kindle and 8-10 paper next to my bed).
Initially, I compared This Life or the Next unfavorably with Home Fire, which switches among multiple, more educated and privileged narrators. Like Home Fire, This Life or the Next also describes the oppression that put Tariq and others at risk of becoming radicalized.
At the end of junior high I wanted to go on to high school, but the counselor advised me to apply for a vocational school instead. She said there was no point in high school because my GPA was too low. But afterward I found out that people with lower GPAs than me had gotten into high school. (p. 32)
Or society's reaction to Islam and the all-too-frequent equation of Islam with terrorism:
Why is [freedom of speech] being discussed really? I thought it had to be because society wanted to get rid of us. Weed us out. Do you know that feeling, when you realize you’re a weed? (p. 84)
And the portrayal of Muslims in the media:
And the media’s clever; they don’t publish things that don’t fit into their picture of the world. They’re really happy if they can portray Muslims as violent extremists. Who listens to a peaceful demonstration anyway? (p. 86)
This Life or the Next does not attribute Tariq's conversion and decision to do jihad to a single event. Going to a weak school contributed – In the end, I had nothing to lose (p. 32). So did the bullying and ostracizing he received in school and the community. And his feelings of emptiness weren't filled by drugs, MMA, body building, and bullying others.
Frustration and anger were the glue that kept Tariq and his friends together. And, the mosque offered Tariq something positive and life affirming: Y’know, there’s a tenderness in the mosque. People care about each other. That was new to us (p. 78). Tariq increasingly lived his faith, both in good ways and more questionable ones (from my perspective):
What could I say in my defense when I stand in front of God and he asks what I did while my brothers and sisters were being slaughtered? Everything you get is from God after all. Or, at least, that’s what I believe as a Muslim. If you win the lottery, or earn money through hard work, everything is from God, y’know. Life is from God. And when I thought about how lucky I was having grown up in Norway, I suddenly felt guilty. We sat there like cowards. Slack. Lazy. I couldn’t sleep. I felt like I was a munafiq [hypocrite]. When I first thought about leaving, I thought it was what God wanted. That was why he’d put the idea in my head. (p. 112)
Like Home Fire, This Life or the Next offers a more morally-complex story of jihad than I usually see in the US news. Tariq was very ambivalent about his experiences in Syria. He found people who were moral and lived according to Muhammed's teachings, but he also saw others who did not: one rebel group killing others, rumors of the state raping Muslim women, and attacks on civilians. Besides,
I wanted to wake up to the call for prayer and roosters crowing. Go to the mosque early and live a simple life in a place where you could practice Islam without people thinking you were weird. A place where you had a close relationship to your neighbor. For me that’s a healthy society. Actually, I just wanted a stable life. A structure that brings peace to your heart. (p. 212)
What made This Life or the Next work for me is that by its end, Tariq was a moral and likeable man. He had grown from his early, bad days; was motivated to serve Allah and the oppressed; and acknowledged his moral weaknesses and considered and reconsidered his decisions. He was a young, impulsive and impatient man, but he also refused to follow through on the marriage opportunities he had, as he expected that soon he would be a martyr. He could now see beyond his own needs and desires.
A good book opens new doors for me and new perspectives. This Life or the Next did this for me.
You should forgive every night before you go to bed because it could always be your last night, and you don’t want to take any hate from this life to the next (p. 324)
September 5, 2020
Reading this brought up a lot of stuff and I wish I had someone to talk to about it.
Lately, I've been noticing more than usual the voice employed in what I'm reading. I don't mean this in just an Own Voices way, although that's certainly part of it... I mean the decisions a creator makes about who is speaking and what that decision is meant to tell us. Here's an easy example: The Odyssey. The narrator *could* deliver directly the story of Odysseus' adventures with various pillages and Polyphemus, as he did with the landing at Ithaca, etc -- but that's not the decision made by Homer. Homer had *Odysseus* tell us... Odysseus, a character whose other major monologues within the text are mostly lies. So what am I supposed to take from that decision?
I thought about this issue of voice -- who is speaking, what is that supposed to tell me -- quite a lot while reading This Life or the Next. There are a lot of layers here:
... Tariq's actual life story
... Tariq's story as told, adjusted for Vitanza's ears
... Vitanza's fictionalization of Tariq's story as told to him
... the translator's interpretation of Vitanza's fictionalization
... my understanding of the translator's interpretation
It's hard to know who is speaking at a given moment. Ostensibly, it's always Tariq, but the opening moments tell us right away that Vitanza is playing a strong role in that, so...
I'm not particularly concerned with the facts of Tariq's actual life story, but each day I wondered whether the insight I think I'm getting into this one young man's experience of the world is remotely like his *actual* experience, or am I hearing what I want to hear? I'm still not sure. It's complicated.
So right now I'm taking this book as a story "inspired by" instead of as a fictionalized autobiography. It feels... less self-delusional, I guess.
I didn't know anything about the book before I read the first few pages -- I don't even remember where I got it, though AmazonCrossing's free annual downloads seems a good bet. Allowing it to unfold on its own terms worked well for me, so I don't want to spoil that experience by writing too much about what the book is. I'll try to limit myself to what it isn't.
... it isn't a war story in the way one might think of them based on war movies
... it isn't a redemption story
... it isn't a wisdom story
... it isn't going to explain the Syrian Civil War
... it isn't nihilistic
... it isn't hopeless
... it isn't hopeful
... it doesn't tell you why
Early in the book, Tariq talks about being overwhelmed by the noise in his head. That's how I felt reading it. There's a lot in here, though it's never verbose. Stylistically, it's a twentysomething guy travelling through his memories, trying to make sense of it all. How Tariq sees himself, his family, his friends, his birth country, the treatment of Muslims worldwide, his faith. In absorbing Tariq's story, I thought more than once of Akala's book, Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire, and of various scenes in "Oz."
Vitanza gave us an unusual work here. Or at least I've never read anything like it. I have a lot of feelings about Tariq-the-character and I really don't know what to do with them.
/ETA/ I just read the blurb here on Goodreads and I can't overstate how much I dislike it. It's reductive and very misleading, making this work sound both action-packed and obvious. The contents of that blurb may, strictly speaking, be accurate, but the tone absolutely is not.
Lately, I've been noticing more than usual the voice employed in what I'm reading. I don't mean this in just an Own Voices way, although that's certainly part of it... I mean the decisions a creator makes about who is speaking and what that decision is meant to tell us. Here's an easy example: The Odyssey. The narrator *could* deliver directly the story of Odysseus' adventures with various pillages and Polyphemus, as he did with the landing at Ithaca, etc -- but that's not the decision made by Homer. Homer had *Odysseus* tell us... Odysseus, a character whose other major monologues within the text are mostly lies. So what am I supposed to take from that decision?
I thought about this issue of voice -- who is speaking, what is that supposed to tell me -- quite a lot while reading This Life or the Next. There are a lot of layers here:
... Tariq's actual life story
... Tariq's story as told, adjusted for Vitanza's ears
... Vitanza's fictionalization of Tariq's story as told to him
... the translator's interpretation of Vitanza's fictionalization
... my understanding of the translator's interpretation
It's hard to know who is speaking at a given moment. Ostensibly, it's always Tariq, but the opening moments tell us right away that Vitanza is playing a strong role in that, so...
I'm not particularly concerned with the facts of Tariq's actual life story, but each day I wondered whether the insight I think I'm getting into this one young man's experience of the world is remotely like his *actual* experience, or am I hearing what I want to hear? I'm still not sure. It's complicated.
So right now I'm taking this book as a story "inspired by" instead of as a fictionalized autobiography. It feels... less self-delusional, I guess.
I didn't know anything about the book before I read the first few pages -- I don't even remember where I got it, though AmazonCrossing's free annual downloads seems a good bet. Allowing it to unfold on its own terms worked well for me, so I don't want to spoil that experience by writing too much about what the book is. I'll try to limit myself to what it isn't.
... it isn't a war story in the way one might think of them based on war movies
... it isn't a redemption story
... it isn't a wisdom story
... it isn't going to explain the Syrian Civil War
... it isn't nihilistic
... it isn't hopeless
... it isn't hopeful
... it doesn't tell you why
Early in the book, Tariq talks about being overwhelmed by the noise in his head. That's how I felt reading it. There's a lot in here, though it's never verbose. Stylistically, it's a twentysomething guy travelling through his memories, trying to make sense of it all. How Tariq sees himself, his family, his friends, his birth country, the treatment of Muslims worldwide, his faith. In absorbing Tariq's story, I thought more than once of Akala's book, Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire, and of various scenes in "Oz."
Vitanza gave us an unusual work here. Or at least I've never read anything like it. I have a lot of feelings about Tariq-the-character and I really don't know what to do with them.
/ETA/ I just read the blurb here on Goodreads and I can't overstate how much I dislike it. It's reductive and very misleading, making this work sound both action-packed and obvious. The contents of that blurb may, strictly speaking, be accurate, but the tone absolutely is not.
June 3, 2019
I think everyone should read (or listen to, as I did) this book. This is what reading does at its best - opens your mind to other people's experiences and points of view. Now I understand that not every western "jihadi" is an extremist or terrorist. Some young people looking for purpose in their life think that they might be able to help other people by fighting Assad. To prevent the "radicalization" of such youth, society needs to understand why they are adrift in the first place: racism, unemployment, and exclusion.
July 31, 2019
It is so important in the toxic, divisive climate in which we live to hear perspectives other than our own. For the first time, a work by Demian Vitanza is available in English, and it makes sense that it is this one. Based on the narrative of an actual person, but fictionalized both for art and for safety of those involved, This Life or the Next gives a first-person account of Tariq, a young Norwegian Muslim who follows his calling to go to Syria and join the rebels in resisting the Assad regime. The entire story is told from his prison cell upon his return to Norway. Vitanza’s psychological realism is exceptional in portraying the motivations, passions, angst, and youth of Fariq, and readers leave the novel with a haunting sympathy for him along with the hope that the future for him and the entire embroiled region can somehow be one of fulfillment and peace.
May 28, 2019
Very well written
I loved the format of the interview. Hearing the experience from the prisoner gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation of a war few of us take time to consider.
I loved the format of the interview. Hearing the experience from the prisoner gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation of a war few of us take time to consider.
June 28, 2019
Translated in English: this book title (available on Amazon) is THIS LIFE OR THE NEXT.
It is the fictional memoir of a Muslim's journey from thriving street punk to devout Muslim to would-be freedom fighter in opposition to Assad's regime in Syria.
While the characters are invention and the rebel organizations doubtless shaded with obfuscation, this tale is an eye-opening introduction to the human face of disaffected European youths' transformations into Islamic warriors.
The narration proceeds in the words of Tariq, a Norwegian of Pakistani descent. His language is familiar and casual, and his story is rendered with a sympathy that will perhaps conflict with many non-Muslim readers' expectations. I had been devastated by the Boston Marathon bombing by Chechen converts to Islam, but Tariq's quest for something greater than himself and his ultimate commitment to a bloody cause is both gripping and stunningly educational.
It is the fictional memoir of a Muslim's journey from thriving street punk to devout Muslim to would-be freedom fighter in opposition to Assad's regime in Syria.
While the characters are invention and the rebel organizations doubtless shaded with obfuscation, this tale is an eye-opening introduction to the human face of disaffected European youths' transformations into Islamic warriors.
The narration proceeds in the words of Tariq, a Norwegian of Pakistani descent. His language is familiar and casual, and his story is rendered with a sympathy that will perhaps conflict with many non-Muslim readers' expectations. I had been devastated by the Boston Marathon bombing by Chechen converts to Islam, but Tariq's quest for something greater than himself and his ultimate commitment to a bloody cause is both gripping and stunningly educational.
December 8, 2019
3.5 stars. Although the writing (translation?) is pretty average, this is definitely worth a read. Tariq is a Pakistani-Norwegian teenager who becomes convinced that he needs to go fight Assad in Syria to help fight for the civilian Muslims. The book raises questions about what is radicalization, who's a terrorist, and how do you help to fight Assad without associating with terrorists? Which groups will never become classified as terrorist groups? If it's radical to want to fight to protect people, how do we explain our military?
September 27, 2019
A heartbreaking book to read, such great sadness and loss. I could hear from the speaker his desire to be more and achieve more in his life and gain favor with his God as he knew Him to be. But each man that the speaker spoke of sounded so alone in his mission, so fragmented both in thought and action.
June 4, 2019
"There's no point in going around thinking you're better than everyone else. All of a sudden you may need their help to get out of the shit."
This book captivated me from the very beginning. I received the e-book free from Amazon for International Book day, and I purchased the audible to go with it. The narrator for the audible book very much captured the theme of the main character, and did a fantastic job with pauses and pacing.
The main character is being interviewed while he is in prison for a crime that takes the entire book to explain. He describes his life growing up in Norway and Pakistan, as well as the different avenues his life took that possibly changed everything in his future. The majority of the book the reader is waiting to find out what hte big crime is he committed, and when we do find out....it created conflicted feelings for me.
This book is fascinating to read for someone living in the west with very little knowledge of how people decide to fight and die for their religion. What drives them for it, and how much their actions do or do not actually effect us. When someone is labeled a terrorist or rebel, it makes you think about the other side.
This book captivated me from the very beginning. I received the e-book free from Amazon for International Book day, and I purchased the audible to go with it. The narrator for the audible book very much captured the theme of the main character, and did a fantastic job with pauses and pacing.
The main character is being interviewed while he is in prison for a crime that takes the entire book to explain. He describes his life growing up in Norway and Pakistan, as well as the different avenues his life took that possibly changed everything in his future. The majority of the book the reader is waiting to find out what hte big crime is he committed, and when we do find out....it created conflicted feelings for me.
This book is fascinating to read for someone living in the west with very little knowledge of how people decide to fight and die for their religion. What drives them for it, and how much their actions do or do not actually effect us. When someone is labeled a terrorist or rebel, it makes you think about the other side.
March 12, 2017
Demian Vitanza tilbragte mer enn hundre timer med en returnert fremmedkriger og syria-farer. Det er til tider sterk kost, men gir også et innblikk i hvorfor en ung rodløs gutt velger å søke seg til radikal islam.
"De hater politiet, de hater foreldra sine, de hater staten, de hater det vestlige samfunnet. Først og fremst hater de seg selv. De føler de aldri er bra nok."
Det som er tillokkende er fellesskapet og full identifikasjon med martyr- og helterollen som det muslimske fellesskapet kan tilby.
Forstå meg rett, men man får gjennom historien et rationale for hvorfor noen velger å gå til dette ekstreme ytterpunkt.
Så kommer spørsmålet, skal forlaget BATZER & CO utgi denne boka i Danmark?
"De hater politiet, de hater foreldra sine, de hater staten, de hater det vestlige samfunnet. Først og fremst hater de seg selv. De føler de aldri er bra nok."
Det som er tillokkende er fellesskapet og full identifikasjon med martyr- og helterollen som det muslimske fellesskapet kan tilby.
Forstå meg rett, men man får gjennom historien et rationale for hvorfor noen velger å gå til dette ekstreme ytterpunkt.
Så kommer spørsmålet, skal forlaget BATZER & CO utgi denne boka i Danmark?
June 30, 2019
Unexpectedly Riveting
I recieved this ebook free from amazon during their world literature month thing. And while I can say that I am not typically a fan of contemporary fiction, I was determined to slog through the hundreds or unread books on my account. This being the first of them.
Living in a conservative area in the US, it was... refreshing, I think, to humanize events in the Middle East. I'm terrible at reviews and putting my thoughts into coherent sentences, but simply put, I could not put this book down. Without there being a ton of action, I was constantly drawn in by his internal struggle and the decisions he made.
I recieved this ebook free from amazon during their world literature month thing. And while I can say that I am not typically a fan of contemporary fiction, I was determined to slog through the hundreds or unread books on my account. This being the first of them.
Living in a conservative area in the US, it was... refreshing, I think, to humanize events in the Middle East. I'm terrible at reviews and putting my thoughts into coherent sentences, but simply put, I could not put this book down. Without there being a ton of action, I was constantly drawn in by his internal struggle and the decisions he made.
April 30, 2019
Chosen solely on the title, I had no clue what this was about when I started it. This is the story of Tariq, a Norwegian-born muslim. It is written as an interview with him after his imprisonment for conspiring to commit an act of terrorism. He and a friend had traveled to Syria to help defend the country from oppressors.
I would recommend using the translation guide at the back of the book while reading it. I didn't know it was there until I finished and I think it would have helped me understand the story better.
I would recommend using the translation guide at the back of the book while reading it. I didn't know it was there until I finished and I think it would have helped me understand the story better.
July 7, 2018
Fabelaktig! #anbefales
July 4, 2019
Informative and refreshing
I believe this was an honest and revealing account of a young man's journey to jihaddism. I would like to see how he moves forward with his life.
I believe this was an honest and revealing account of a young man's journey to jihaddism. I would like to see how he moves forward with his life.
July 21, 2019
Growing up in Norway, Tariq Khan spent much of his youth on the edge of the law. He and a few of his friends made a good deal of money as drug runners, using a good bit of the product themselves. As an older teenager Tariq began to question his lifestyle and became increasingly involved in his Islamic religion. He came to admire those of his faith who traveled to Syria to fight against Assad. Soon Tariq believed this was his calling. He and his friend Carlos drove from Norway to Turkey in order to be smuggled over the border into Syria where they could join the fight. The war was not at all what Tariq had imagined. Numerous groups of fighters tried to recruit Tariq to their side but the young man was unable to decide which held the religious beliefs he felt most comfortable with. Instead he remained neutral, driving an ambulance with a new friend into war-torn areas of Syria. Seeing the constant death and carnage, Tariq began to question his reasons for being in this country.
This story, based on a real man, is told as Tariq speaking to a reporter who is to write a book about his time in Syria. It shows the evolution of a disenchanted youth into a religious extremist. I was quite surprised to learn just how many different groups of Islamic fighters were in Syria and how confusing alliances must have been. Tariq seemed to be completely out of his element in a war zone.
This story, based on a real man, is told as Tariq speaking to a reporter who is to write a book about his time in Syria. It shows the evolution of a disenchanted youth into a religious extremist. I was quite surprised to learn just how many different groups of Islamic fighters were in Syria and how confusing alliances must have been. Tariq seemed to be completely out of his element in a war zone.
May 6, 2019
It was written like an interview, even though the interviewers questions are not written down you know what was being asked.
The book is a relatively quick read and the glossary in the back definitely helps.
Tariq is a Norwegian Pakistani Muslim trying to find his way in the world and his place in it. This book is his mostly true, some fictionalized events of his coming to age story.
The book is a relatively quick read and the glossary in the back definitely helps.
Tariq is a Norwegian Pakistani Muslim trying to find his way in the world and his place in it. This book is his mostly true, some fictionalized events of his coming to age story.
July 19, 2019
Interesting
It took me a while to get used to the writing style of the book, but then once I got into the story I really enjoyed it. I never knew much about everything that happened there and I found reading about a personal story a good way to see it from that perspective. I have wondered how people find themselves joining up with such organizations and extremism of all kinds.
It took me a while to get used to the writing style of the book, but then once I got into the story I really enjoyed it. I never knew much about everything that happened there and I found reading about a personal story a good way to see it from that perspective. I have wondered how people find themselves joining up with such organizations and extremism of all kinds.
May 17, 2019
I picked this up as one of the free ebooks from Amazon and their Amazon Crossings imprint as part of their World Book Day promotion. I honestly wasn't sure that I would ever even read it but I'm a bit of a digital hoarder so I was happy to snap it up and dump it in my virtual library. I've been trying to step outside my typical reading categories and so long story short I decided to pay the extra couple bucks download the Audible narration for this book and give it a go. I'm glad I did.
The book tells a fictionalized account based on real interviews of a young Norwegian-Pakistani man who goes to Syria to fight for his faith. From the very beginning it is made clear that you won't know how much of the story to believe. In fact the author isn't even sure what is true and it's likely the narrator doesn't even know.
The story is told similarly to how it was sourced as a personal narrative in a series of interviews with the young man called Tarriq Khan telling his story from prison. In an interesting decision, the interview is presented as one-sided where the author/interviewer's portion of the conversation is left out. At first the combination of the narrative style and the fact that I wasn't sure if I was reading a fiction or nonfiction book was a little off-putting. By the end, it didn't matter. I was do engrossed in the turmoil that surrounded Tarriq, without and within himself, that I realized this story wasn't about the truth of events or names or places but about a more emotional truth.
Author Demian Vitanza does a great job of showcasing the complexities of human thought & emotion that lead a young man away from his home to war and back. Vitanza shows us a glimpse of the motivations and dreams and fears of a would be jihadist without ever condoning or condemning Tarriq. In an interview Vitanza said: “Literature has this great freedom of judgment that’s wonderful. Important. As a reader, you’re more than welcome to judge. But me, as a writer, that’s not my job.” I absolutely love this quote and sincerely thank Mr. Vitanza for writng this story and writing it the way he did.
As I said I picked up the audiobook add-on from Audible and chose to listen to this one. The narrator is great and keeps it in control but with enough heart to make it feel genuine and interesting.
I can honestly say this book produced a range of emotions in me and I'm very glad I decided to give it a chance.
Be seeing you, inshallah, in this life or the next.
The book tells a fictionalized account based on real interviews of a young Norwegian-Pakistani man who goes to Syria to fight for his faith. From the very beginning it is made clear that you won't know how much of the story to believe. In fact the author isn't even sure what is true and it's likely the narrator doesn't even know.
The story is told similarly to how it was sourced as a personal narrative in a series of interviews with the young man called Tarriq Khan telling his story from prison. In an interesting decision, the interview is presented as one-sided where the author/interviewer's portion of the conversation is left out. At first the combination of the narrative style and the fact that I wasn't sure if I was reading a fiction or nonfiction book was a little off-putting. By the end, it didn't matter. I was do engrossed in the turmoil that surrounded Tarriq, without and within himself, that I realized this story wasn't about the truth of events or names or places but about a more emotional truth.
Author Demian Vitanza does a great job of showcasing the complexities of human thought & emotion that lead a young man away from his home to war and back. Vitanza shows us a glimpse of the motivations and dreams and fears of a would be jihadist without ever condoning or condemning Tarriq. In an interview Vitanza said: “Literature has this great freedom of judgment that’s wonderful. Important. As a reader, you’re more than welcome to judge. But me, as a writer, that’s not my job.” I absolutely love this quote and sincerely thank Mr. Vitanza for writng this story and writing it the way he did.
As I said I picked up the audiobook add-on from Audible and chose to listen to this one. The narrator is great and keeps it in control but with enough heart to make it feel genuine and interesting.
I can honestly say this book produced a range of emotions in me and I'm very glad I decided to give it a chance.
Be seeing you, inshallah, in this life or the next.
June 17, 2019
Interesting
Not a usual choice for me, but a quick read. I liked the interview format. It's harsh, though. War zones, etc.
Not a usual choice for me, but a quick read. I liked the interview format. It's harsh, though. War zones, etc.
June 13, 2019
True, with a healthy dose of fiction
Very interesting story: a native Norwegian of Pakistani heritage forsakes his life as a petty criminal to fight government forces in Syria. The book is one long narrative of his recollections, presented as an interview with the author. Very readable, believable, and difficult to forget.
Very interesting story: a native Norwegian of Pakistani heritage forsakes his life as a petty criminal to fight government forces in Syria. The book is one long narrative of his recollections, presented as an interview with the author. Very readable, believable, and difficult to forget.
May 18, 2020
I chose this as my book club pick and ultimately failed my fellow readers. So much potential and yet it fell terribly short. It is essentially based on a true story; an interview of a Pakistani Norwegian who found himself inspired to go to war-torn Syria and essentially become a 'terrorist'. Shafina from book club said it best: "If the author wanted to write a book about a terrorist, I think he picked the wrong terrorist.'
There was no context or build up in the story, no exploration of the character and honestly, no characters in the book were likeable or memorable. The one thing that this book did was highlight how anti-climactic some terrorist activity can be. The main character found himself bored and lost in Syria, with no plan, no contacts and no real affiliation with any group.
He seemed to be struggling for purpose in his life and stumbled (quite literally) upon a narrow sense of Islam where he could cherry pick what made sense to him. He seemed to transform overnight, again, with no real exploration of his process. One day he was pushing drugs in Norway, going to parties and engaging in illicit activities and the next day he was a devout Muslim in competition with how Muslim he could be compared to others.
After about 50%, I abandoned the book as it was so uninteresting, I couldn't fathom finishing it. My book club friends told me I didn't miss much at all.
Do not recommend.
There was no context or build up in the story, no exploration of the character and honestly, no characters in the book were likeable or memorable. The one thing that this book did was highlight how anti-climactic some terrorist activity can be. The main character found himself bored and lost in Syria, with no plan, no contacts and no real affiliation with any group.
He seemed to be struggling for purpose in his life and stumbled (quite literally) upon a narrow sense of Islam where he could cherry pick what made sense to him. He seemed to transform overnight, again, with no real exploration of his process. One day he was pushing drugs in Norway, going to parties and engaging in illicit activities and the next day he was a devout Muslim in competition with how Muslim he could be compared to others.
After about 50%, I abandoned the book as it was so uninteresting, I couldn't fathom finishing it. My book club friends told me I didn't miss much at all.
Do not recommend.
October 14, 2023
A suspenseful semi-fictionalized story of a Norwegian-born Islamic fighter in Syria early in the civil war. The stories of militarized schooling in Pakistan and the lives of rebels in Syria have an intense drive. The preparation of the radicalization process in Norway, on the other hand, constitutes an important, but unfortunately less interesting story.
The description of the conditions in the rebel areas in northern Syria (Idlib) seems convincing. We get a picture of a revolt that quickly became a sectarian conflict also among the opponents of Assad. Here are sharp observations of the destructive aspects of the war, somewhat balanced by positive impressions of some individuals among the rebels, especially the relief workers.
Author Vitanza has probably put much of his own research, ie. factual information, into Tariq's report. In this way, he ensures that the drive in the story does not lose out. Tariq, on the other hand, wants us to believe that he was first and foremost an ambulance driver and caretaker without joining any particular grouping. We do not need to believe him on this point. Here the Norwegian courts already have already said what they think about his version.
The description of the conditions in the rebel areas in northern Syria (Idlib) seems convincing. We get a picture of a revolt that quickly became a sectarian conflict also among the opponents of Assad. Here are sharp observations of the destructive aspects of the war, somewhat balanced by positive impressions of some individuals among the rebels, especially the relief workers.
Author Vitanza has probably put much of his own research, ie. factual information, into Tariq's report. In this way, he ensures that the drive in the story does not lose out. Tariq, on the other hand, wants us to believe that he was first and foremost an ambulance driver and caretaker without joining any particular grouping. We do not need to believe him on this point. Here the Norwegian courts already have already said what they think about his version.
May 10, 2019
Surprisingly good!
I received this as a free book from Amazon/Goodreads, otherwise I would not have considered reading this book.
It gives insight into the different rebel groups fighting in Syria, and their evolution. The format of the book is an interview with a young rebel “wanna be.” It explains how he progressed from a child in Norway to a rebel in Syria. Excellent writing style. Easy to read. Very informative. I highly recommend this book if you are the slightest bit interested in the war in Syria.
I received this as a free book from Amazon/Goodreads, otherwise I would not have considered reading this book.
It gives insight into the different rebel groups fighting in Syria, and their evolution. The format of the book is an interview with a young rebel “wanna be.” It explains how he progressed from a child in Norway to a rebel in Syria. Excellent writing style. Easy to read. Very informative. I highly recommend this book if you are the slightest bit interested in the war in Syria.
June 3, 2019
First person narrative of a voice that needs to be heard. Tariq is a young man in search of truth, goodness, and doing the right thing. He feels called to help the Syrian people and leaves Norway to join those rebelling against the Assad regime.
May 1, 2022
I liked this book ... it felt like the book written by and about Montasser AlDe'emeh. It is about a man in doubt with his self, environment, religion ... decides to go to Syria and again finds that not all is as clear and logical as expected ... good read!
April 18, 2019
Captivating
I was interested the whole time. Then, I found out it was fictional, but based on the life of someone in prison and I felt bad for the way things went. But, I would definitely recommend this book and I'm sure I'll read it again sometime.
I was interested the whole time. Then, I found out it was fictional, but based on the life of someone in prison and I felt bad for the way things went. But, I would definitely recommend this book and I'm sure I'll read it again sometime.
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