From bestselling and National Book Awardnominated author Tahereh Mafi comes a stunning novel about love and loneliness, navigating the hyphen of dual identity, and reclaiming your right to joyeven when youre trapped in the amber of sorrow.
Its 2003, several months since the US officially declared war on Iraq, and the American political world has evolved. Tensions are high,hate crimes are on the rise, FBI agents are infiltrating local mosques,and the Muslim community is harassed and targeted more than ever.Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down. She's too busy drowning in her own troubles to find the time to deal with bigots. Shadi is named for joy, but shes haunted by sorrow.
Her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best friend has mysteriously dropped out of her life. And then, of course, theres the small matter of her heart Its broken. Shadi tries to navigate her crumbling world by soldiering through,saying nothing. She devours her own pain, each day retreating fartherand farther inside herself until finally, one day, everything changes. She explodes. An Emotion of Great Delightis a searing look into the world of a singleMuslim family in the wake of 9/11.Its about a child of immigrants forging a blurry identity,falling in love, and finding hopein the midst of a modern war.