John Updike, when addressing a sensitive issue, maintains an impartial and perceptive attitude that is necessary when recounting the life of Ahmad, who nearly became a criminal in the eyes of the entire United States. He neither shows partiality nor makes excuses, nor does he attack or judge. Instead, he writes about the path that led Ahmad to become a martyr for his faith with a simple understanding. He does not blame or condemn any individual; for him, it is an entire society that needs to change.

This push of his is sufficient here: https://docsach.org/2017/05/29/ke-khu...

Updike's approach is refreshing as it allows for a more in-depth exploration of the complex factors that contribute to Ahmad's situation. By not taking sides, he encourages readers to consider the broader context and question the social and cultural norms that may have led to this outcome.

His writing serves as a reminder that understanding and empathy are essential when dealing with sensitive issues, and that only by looking at the bigger picture can we hope to bring about positive change.

Terrorist story is simply about "Ahmed Ashmawy", the son of an Irish-American mother and an Egyptian father. He tries to find and corrupt his Islamic identity in a "non-believing" society and is incited by the mosque imam because of the strength of his faith that he "fights in the way of God" by killing himself in an explosion, and what prevents him is a Jewish non-religious student mentor.

Exactly, I will skip all the positive parts completely and all the reasons will be in the negatives. First of all, I am really fired up from the beginning of the story and the feeling is not enough even after I write the review.

First, regarding the characters of the story: the amount of coldness in all the characters without exception needs to be studied. It's not reasonable that they all speak in a strange way. Can anyone convince me that Ahmed Ashmawy, a high school student, speaks in this way? Or even his girlfriend Samira Bashara? They speak as if they are mature. They are completely far from the reality that can be in people of their age. There is no one character who feels that he can interact with them and empathize and feel that they are almost like him, but because of the sentences that the author throws in the story, except for the one who feels sorry for Elizabeth and Ahmed Ashmawy's mother. They are all victims of men who are supposed to be their husbands, but in the end, because of their neglect of them and the change in their personal lives and their fall into destruction, they blame their wives, forgetting that they are the main reason for this change. But the real question is: Are we doomed? Of course yes.

From the perspective of the story: it is told very slowly and is full of detailed descriptions of places, tools, and things in a boring and ultimately unimportant way. The author was describing things that would have been better if she had focused and shortened the things that really needed to be said. Perhaps at the end of the story, the "jihad" time in their view was emphasized, but it was separated from me because of the unjustified and unnecessary verbosity.

From the perspective of style and narration: I don't think I can judge this part because I read it translated and maybe the translator wronged the author in his translation, especially if there are spelling and grammatical errors in the story, then it's not excluded that he might have changed things, but he insists and elaborates on the explanation of terms in each chapter of the story.

The result of the events of the story: I said before that it is boring, dull, and not exciting, but from my point of view, it is also ridiculous. Because the author was supposed to approach the story from the perspective of a personal Muslim - or according to what I understood - but the story is full of sentences and words of disbelief that we hear from the adherents of other religions in movies and series and sometimes we read them on Twitter, and almost the author imagined that we as Muslims can dare to speak about God and describe him with the description of human beings. But this conversation is very hateful and disgusting, even if it is for the sake of explanation in general. It was supposed that since he was going to talk about a Muslim character, he would do a very thorough research because these are the things that really distinguish us from the people who dare to ridicule and make fun of the prophets and God and at the same time worship them? Strange.

The second part that raised my suspicion is that Ahmed Ashmawy was supposed to be a true Muslim, but it's easy for him to be criticized under the name of "Islam says this", which is ridiculous. I used to say that it's impossible for our Lord to let someone kill himself in the name of religion without any indication! But in the end, when I recalled what I read, I discovered that the whole story is just full of indications, but it's the human being who doesn't understand well. And the most laughable thing is that in the end, it's the non-religious Jew who stops him from this terrorist act. (?). And the most annoying thing is that all the non-Muslim characters are all kind, gentle, and lovely - even if what they do is betrayal and family problems, but this is the nature of their Western society, not a call - but the Muslims in the story are evil, terrorists, fanatics, and often the author has the idea that any Muslim is ready to blow himself up at any moment just because he is a Muslim.

The story is not worth reading despite the fact that its name and summary are attractive, but everything inside it is just heresy, lies, and distortion. I hate non-Muslims if they write and speak about Muslims with their own tongues and they don't know anything about them. Even if they talk about Islam, they won't write about it except what suits their point of view! And I also want someone to tell them that in Islam, our Lord did not create women just for pleasure.

I had an extremely difficult time putting this book down for the first fifty pages and then again for the last fifty pages.

At the beginning, it was all about getting to know the characters, which was so engaging that I couldn't tear myself away.

And then, as the story neared its end, I was completely hooked, eager to see how everything would play out.

However, I must admit that much of the middle of the book was far easier for me to walk away from.

I think part of the reason for this is that the set-up almost blatantly tells you where the book will end.

It becomes more of a question of simply discovering the details of the resolution, rather than being on the edge of your seat wondering how the characters will turn out.

And, admittedly, I may have also wanted more depth from the characters.

It felt like Updike was almost using stereotypes to make them more relatable and to overcome their limitations, but at the core, they still remained stereotypes.

With a plot that was, for the most part, predictable and easy to anticipate, and sometimes a bit contrived, this was one of those books that I'm glad I read, but it was also more easily digestible in smaller portions.

I'm not entirely certain that I would recommend it except in very specific circumstances.

"Not my cup of tea."

This phrase implies that something is not to one's taste or preference.

In this context, it is stated that the item in question is soporific, which means it has a tendency to cause sleepiness.

While it may not be appealing to some, it can actually be of great help if you suffer from insomnia.

Insomnia can be a frustrating and debilitating condition, making it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep throughout the night.

For those who struggle with this, a soporific substance or activity might offer a much-needed solution.

It could potentially relax the mind and body, allowing for a more restful night's sleep.

However, it's important to note that the use of soporifics should be done with caution and under the guidance of a healthcare professional.

Some soporifics may have side effects or interact with other medications.

Therefore, it's always best to consult a doctor before trying anything new to address insomnia.