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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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THE BAD MUSLIM DISCOUNT

Syed Masood

Following two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 90s through to their meeting in San Francisco in 2016, The Bad Muslim Discount is a hilarious, timely, and provocative novel about Muslim immigrants in modern America.
Anvar Faris is a restless, rebellious, and sharp-tongued boy growing up in Karachi, Pakistan. But it is 1995, and as fundamentalists in the government become increasingly strident and the zealots next door start patrolling the streets to help make Islam great again, his family decides, not quite unanimously, to start life over in California. The irony is not lost on Anvar that in America, his deeply devout mother and his model-Muslim brother are the ones who fit right in with the tightly knit and gossipy desi community, while his fun-loving dad suddenly can't find a good meal or anyone to talk with. Anvar wants more. He's tired of being a good Muslim.

Thousands of miles away, Safwa, a young girl living in war-torn Baghdad with her grief-stricken, conservative father will find a far more dangerous path to America. Their two narratives are intrinsically linked and when their worlds come together, the fates of two remarkably different people intertwine and set off a series of events that rock their communities to their core.

The Bad Muslim Discount is a witty, very human literary feat, and a celebration of the kind of diversity that makes this country great. With deep insight, warmth, and an irreverent sense of humor, Syed Masood examines quirky and intense familial relationships, arranged marriage, Islamic identity, and how to live together in modern America.

SYED M. MASOOD grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. A first-generation immigrant twice-over, he has been a citizen of three different countries and nine different cities. He currently lives in San Francisco, California, where he is a practicing attorney. He is the author of the upcoming young-adult novel MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE.
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Published 2021-02-02 by Doubleday

Comments

Take it from a bad Jew, this is one of the bravest and most eye-opening novels of the year. Masood is a whiz at characters and knows the way the world works inside out. A future classic.

Perfect... I was torn between wanting to take my time to savor it, or just blazing through. This is a book that I didn't know I deeply needed.

Masood's narrative twists rival those of the best telenovelas... By its end, "The Bad Muslim Discount" delivers a quintessentially American tale about what immigrants gain or lose when they assimilate - or refuse to do so... a] remarkable debut novel.

[A] sparkling debut novel.

The characters are complex and sympathetic. The story includes tense moments and the serious portrayal of the violence the characters endure, but also humorous passages about human flaws and the small tensions that occur in families... [a] rich and complex story.

TV rights were just optioned to Netflix for an original series!

Syed M. Masood brings something new and necessary to the immigrant story: a sense of humor. Surprising, provocative, and damn funny, The Bad Muslim Discount is the story we always needed but never had.

The Bad Muslim Discount" reads like a bingeable TV series - fast-paced and surprising at every turn. As the characters rebel, we root for them, eagerly hoping that they are able to build a life that's true to them without losing everything they love.

Masood offers sharp observations on religion, violence, and politics, and his clever choice to place the characters' disparate experiences in parallel challenges Islamophobic stereotypes.

Polish: Akapit

Masood's novel presents a stereoscopic, three-dimensional view of contemporary Muslim America: the way historical conflict in the Middle East lingers in individual lives, the way gossip travels in a close-knit immigrant community.

Irreverent and bold.

A born storyteller, Masood has crafted a fast-paced page-turner with plenty of insightful commentary on religion, family, love, and national politics in this debut novel that is expertly written and a joy to read; highly recommended.

Explosive... A rich meditation on religion and personal identity.

THE BAD MUSLIM DISCOUNT is a February 2021 Amazon Best Book of the Month February 2021 INDIE NEXT Pick February 2021 Book of the Month Add on Pick

Masood adeptly balances humor with pathos in this unforgettable, twisting tale... A moving, comic take on the immigrant experience.