Description

‘A subversive debut… Her spiky prose style provocatively undercuts received narratives about the “American dream” from the immigrant’s perspective’ Guardian

‘Unforgettable… Rarely does a book sharpen how you see the world around you, but American Fever does just that. It dazzled me on every page’ Julie Buntin, author of Marlena

*The winner of an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature*

On a year-long exchange programme in rural Oregon, sixteen-year-old Hira must swap Kashmiri chai for volleyball practice and understand why everyone around her seems to dislike Obama. An unforgettably witty narrator, Hira finds herself stuck between worlds. The experience is memorable for reasons both good and bad; a first kiss, new friends, racism, Islamophobia, homesickness. Along the way Hira starts to feel increasingly unwell until she begins coughing up blood, and receives a diagnosis of tuberculosis, pushing her into quarantine and turning her newly-established world upside down.

‘Marks the debut of a thrilling new global voice’ Peter Ho Davies

‘Completely engrossing . . . Amna’s prose moves along quickly and Hira’s appraisal of the people and places she encounters is sharp and untarnished by tact’ Dawn

Publisher Review

American Fever is the unforgettable story of a teenage girl in a year of transformation. Dur e Aziz Amna navigates the choppy waters of adolescence with blistering insight and humour, and exquisitely captures the way we can long for home while yearning to escape it. Rarely does a book sharpen how you see the world around you, but American Fever does just that. It dazzled me on every page. * Julie Buntin, author of Marlena * "The one thing I shouldn't ever do was take an American's word on America." Good point: take Dur e Aziz Amna's word instead. In this sharply observed twist on the classic coming-to-America story, we find an America recognizable in all its generosity, cruelty, and sometimes-well-intentioned bumbling. And we find a brilliant exploration of the sacred, scary moment when a girl comes into the wider world. * Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Sontag: Her Life and Work * Brave, tender-hearted, and painfully bittersweet, American Fever is a sharply observed debut that announces Dur e Aziz Amna as a brilliant new voice. * Fatima Farheen Mirza, author of A Place for Us * In American Fever, Dur e Aziz Amna gives us an unforgettable South Asian protagonist - clever, clear-spoken, equal parts brash and vulnerable - navigating the mores of illness, separation and small-town America. Charming, fearless and politically aware, American Fever is a novel that will stay with you for a long time. * Sarah Thankam Matthews * American Fever is an extraordinarily assured and gripping debut. The intelligence, humour and longing of Hira's voice, as she negotiates what it means to belong to a place, will certainly stay with me * Aysegul Savas * Hira's is a voice I won't soon forget; her biting intelligence, her irreverence, and her wit blazes through this riveting, brilliant novel which stuns in its insights, its sensitive understanding of the complexities of identity, of what home means, and what it means to exist within a globalized world. A searing debut. * Aamina Ahmad, author of THE RETURN OF FARAZ ALI * A poetic, memorable novel. I loved it. Hira is a marvellous creation - American Fever marks the arrival of a hugely promising writer. * Mirza Waheed * A loving and unflinching exploration of home and homeland, the ways they make and unmake us, how they feed us and also eat away our insides. Amna's crystalline prose reflects and refracts, dazzles and captivates. * Nawaaz Ahmed, author of 'Radiant Fugitives', finalist for the PEN-Faulkner Award * American Fever is a fresh, fierce bildungsroman - a story of homesickness and adolescent ache, not to mention a biting meta-commentary on what we expect from immigrant narratives. It's a relief to witness America as Hira does, seeing it clearly as an absurd, flawed nation that is all too often, as Hira says, a concept on whose behalf immigrants are unreasonably asked to testify. * Sanjena Sathian, author of GOLD DIGGERS * Hira is a compelling, emotionally astute narrator . . . Hira's freshness in the way she assesses the world and herself while skewering the inconsistencies of those around her makes for a layered read . . . Amna's debut novel showcases her adeptness in tackling some of the big migration questions of home and identity within the context of her insightful young protagonist's complex experiences * Booklist * This is a funny and affecting novel, understated but powerful, a wonderful new spin on the coming-of-age story. A smart, charming debut. * Kirkus Reviews * An utterly hypnotic, witty and brilliant novel about young Hira's journey across two oceans... Dur E Aziz Amna's virtuosic way with language kept me enthralled the whole way through. This book is a necessary next-leveling of diasporic consciousness, the unraveling of borders between homeland and newfound home that happens inside of us. * Tanais, author of IN SENSORIUM * American Fever is an exhilarating juxtaposition of discovery and nostalgia. With great humour and fine attentiveness, Dur e Aziz Amna captures the feverish excitement and confusion of America from the point of view of a young outsider, questioning our assumptions about relationships, politics, food, clothes, illness, grief and beyond. It's a fast-paced yet contemplative story of malaise and opportunity, intercultural (mis)understanding, and transgenerational debt. Every page is filled with the zest of life that makes you want more. * Kit Fan, author of DIAMOND HILL * Fierce, razor-sharp, poignant, and rendered with fiery wit and deep empathy for human foibles, American Fever is a powerful tale of exile, identity, and belonging in our complex world. * Vikram Paralkar, author of NIGHT THEATER * A gripping debut on a journey that so many young people embark on but very little is written about with such audacity, skill and compassion. The narrative toggle between teenage and adult Hira adds depth to an already evocative book. * Zeba Talkhani * Gorgeous... Amna is a bold storyteller skilled at blending character, plot, and the kind of existential crises that keep us up at night. Her debut novel, American Fever-as propulsive as it is lyrical, as hilarious as it is sobering-is, above all, an irresistible read from an impressive new literary voice. * Michigan Quarterly Review *