The Royal Abduls - Paperback

Sold out

$24.63 - $24.63

$24.63

$24.63 - $24.63

$24.63

Availability: Out of Stock

SKU 9781942436416

Additional information

Report copyright infringement

by Ramiza Shamoun Koya (Author)

Audiobook rights sold to Blackstone Publishing; foreign rights and film interest in the works.

The Royal Abduls is an #ownvoices novel by a secular Muslim and second-generation immigrant.

Many Muslim stories are told from the viewpoint of terrorists or new immigrants. The Royal Abduls offers a counter-narrative to stereotypes and explores secular Muslim identity.

A 2017 survey of Muslim Americans reported discrimination specifically including being treated with suspicion, pulled aside by airport security, or called offensive names. This is a major plot point in The Royal Abduls.

A 2019 Pew Research Survey found that 82 percent of U.S. adults say that Muslims are subject to some discrimination, an increase from 62 percent in 2016--a fact that emphasizes the need for literature that counteracts stereotypes and explores what it means to live in the U.S. as a secular Muslim family.

Washington, D.C., where the book is mostly set, has the fifth highest population of Indians of any U.S. city.

Most D.C.-set books are thrillers or about politics; this title will appeal to residents, which as of 2019 are estimated at 713,244.

The American Psychological Association reports that 40 to 50 percent of the couples in the U.S. divorce. Omar's parents' deteriorating relationship puts them into this demographic and may be appealing to readers who have experienced divorce, either themselves or with their parents.

Mo's increase in drinking impairs his ability to empathize with his wife and son. American Addiction Centers states that as many as 76 million Americans, or 45 percent of the population, "have been exposed to some form of alcoholism or alcoholic behaviors in their family." Those who have experienced this in their own families will see how the Abduls manage the situation and how their relationships get torn.

Front Jacket

Ramiza Shamoun Koya's debut novel follows the lives of an evolutionary biologist and her ten-year-old nephew in post-9/11 Washington, D.C. Omar's mother is white, his first-generation American father never walks to talk about India or what it means to be Muslim, and Omar struggles to find a cultural identity that fits. When Amina arrives from the West Coast for a hybrid zone lab job, Omar's parents begin relying on her for childcare. Despite the demands of her male-dominated workplace and her preference for solitude, she becomes close to her nephew. As Amina's hesitant romance with a Sikh cricket coach blossoms, Omar's parents' marriage fractures and leaves him vulnerable to finding answers in dangerous places. The Royal Abduls, a family drama about the lives of secular Muslims post-9/11, engages with the difficulties of maintaining relationships in a fragmented America.

Author Biography

Ramiza Shamoun Koya has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in publications such as Columbia Review, Lumina, Washington Square Review, and Mutha Magazine. She has been a fellow at both MacDowell Colony and Blue Mountain Center. Her father was born in Fiji, her mother in Texas, and she was born in California. She lives with her daughter and two cats.

Number of Pages: 304

Dimensions: 0.9 x 8.9 x 5.9 IN

Publication Date: May 12, 2020