HOMELAND ELEGIES PRESS
“An immigrant saga like no other…a devastating case for the limits of our country even as it describes its nigh-irresistible allure…this is the book of the year.”
—Junot Diaz, O Magazine
“A crescendo of grievance reminiscent of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl...[Akhtar] denounces the nation’s recent sins and failures…rails against the country’s cult of greed, its prostitution of private life for public attention, its allegiance to devices...to give his own account of the riven nation.”
— Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker
“A beautiful novel about an American son and his immigrant father that has echoes of The Great Gatsby and that circles, with pointed intellect, the possibilities and limitations of American life.”
— Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“It’s hard to convey the breadth and brilliance of this work.”
“Tour de force…a phenomenal coalescence of memoir, fiction, history and cultural analysis.”
— Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“It is an enfilade of stories, succeeding one another like the rooms at the Palace of Versailles…he has hit on an ingenious form for the snapshot age of Instagram, as he updates an enduring American drama: from rags to riches—and back again.”
Writer’s & Company - CBC Radio:
Ayad in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel.
L.A. Review of Books Radio Hour
Ayad talks to Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher.
Amanpour & Co.
Ayad discusses Homeland Elegies with Hari Sreenivasan.
T: The New York Times Style Magazine - The 25 Most Significant New York City Novels from the Past 100 Years
Homeland Elegies was selected as one of the most influential New York novels published between 1921 - 2021.
SELECT PRESS
“If there is a triple threat in writing, Pulitzer Prize-winning Ayad Akhtar is it…a virtuosic, once-in-a-generation talent.”
“[Akhtar’s] tales…are as essential today as the work of Saul Bellow, James Farrell, and Vladimir Nabokov were in the 20th century in capturing the drama of the immigrant experience.”
“I would in some ways compare him to Tony Kushner….His plays find a very intimate way to talk about the big things happening in America.”
“The drama of real life seems to have eclipsed the potency of art unless you’re Ayad Akhtar.”
“...one of America’s foremost playwrights.”
“Perhaps philosopher will be this multi-hyphenate’s next act.”
— TIME
“[Akhtar’s] talents long have been formidable.”
“A dazzling voice…he roams easily across a vast intellectual expanse.”
“[Akhtar] heralds the emergence of a...visceral...dialogue coursing through American fiction.”
SELECT VIDEO
CBS News Sunday Morning:
Meet Ayad Akhtar
