The Submission
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
“Masterful . . . [A] scathing, dazzlingly crafted indictment of the messes people make when they mistake ideology for morality and bigotry for patriotism.” —Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
A jury gathers in Manhattan to select the 9/11 memorial for the victims of the devastating terrorist attack. But when the jurors open the envelope containing the anonymous winner’s name—and discover he is an American Muslim, all are instantly cast into roiling debate about the claims of grief, the ambiguities of art, and the meaning of Islam.
The memorial’s designer is an enigmatic architect named Mohammad Khan. His fiercest defender on the jury is its sole widow, the self-possessed and mediagenic Claire Burwell. But when the news of his selection leaks to the press, she finds herself under pressure from outraged family members as she confronts hungry journalists, wary activists, opportunistic politicians, fellow jurors, and Khan himself—as unknowable as he is gifted. All will bring the emotional weight of their own histories to bear on the urgent question of how to remember, and understand, a national tragedy.
A striking portrait of a fractured city striving to make itself whole in the wake of a national tragedy, The Submission is a piercing and resonant novel by an important new writer.
“A story that has more verisimilitude, more political resonance, and way more heart than Mr. Wolfe’s . . . The Bonfire of the Vanities.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Book Review
“[A] fascinating examination of a grieving America’s relationship with itself.” —Chris Cleave, The Washington Post
“A remarkably assured portrait of how a populace grows maddened and confused when ideology trumps empathy.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Frighteningly plausible.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
A jury gathers in Manhattan to select the 9/11 memorial for the victims of the devastating terrorist attack. But when the jurors open the envelope containing the anonymous winner’s name—and discover he is an American Muslim, all are instantly cast into roiling debate about the claims of grief, the ambiguities of art, and the meaning of Islam.
The memorial’s designer is an enigmatic architect named Mohammad Khan. His fiercest defender on the jury is its sole widow, the self-possessed and mediagenic Claire Burwell. But when the news of his selection leaks to the press, she finds herself under pressure from outraged family members as she confronts hungry journalists, wary activists, opportunistic politicians, fellow jurors, and Khan himself—as unknowable as he is gifted. All will bring the emotional weight of their own histories to bear on the urgent question of how to remember, and understand, a national tragedy.
A striking portrait of a fractured city striving to make itself whole in the wake of a national tragedy, The Submission is a piercing and resonant novel by an important new writer.
“A story that has more verisimilitude, more political resonance, and way more heart than Mr. Wolfe’s . . . The Bonfire of the Vanities.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Book Review
“[A] fascinating examination of a grieving America’s relationship with itself.” —Chris Cleave, The Washington Post
“A remarkably assured portrait of how a populace grows maddened and confused when ideology trumps empathy.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Frighteningly plausible.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
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