Children of Dust: A Portrait of a Muslim as a Young Man

“[Eteraz’s] adventures are a heavenly read.” —O, the Oprah magazine

“In this supremely assured, lush, and rip-roaring book, Eteraz manages to do the impossible, gliding confidently over the chasm that divides East and West. Wildly entertaining…memoir of the first order.” —Murad Kalam, author of Night Journey

Ali Eteraz’s award-winning memoir reveals the searing spiritual story of growing up in Pakistan under the specter of militant Islamic fundamentalism and then overcoming the culture shock of emigrating to the United States. A gripping memoir evocative of Persepolis, Reading Lolita in Tehran, and the novel The Kite Runner, Eteraz’s narrative is also a cathartic chronicle of spiritual awakening. Yael Goldstein Love, author of Overture, calls Children of Dust “a gift and a necessity [that] should be read by believers and nonbelievers alike.”

• Spiritual Journey: Follow a young boy’s path from a Pakistani madrassa to the heart of the American Bible Belt, as he grapples with a sacred promise made at his birth to become a great servant of Islam.
• Culture Shock: Experience the poignant and often humorous clash of cultures as a young immigrant navigates high school, family, and faith in a world utterly different from the one he left behind.
• Islamic Fundamentalism: A rare, firsthand account of embracing—and later questioning—a fundamentalist worldview, offering a nuanced look at the forces that shape belief in the modern world.
• Coming of Age Memoir: For readers of Persepolis and The Kite Runner, this unforgettable story traces a search for identity across continents, a journey from a boy promised to God to a man forging his own path.