Summary

In Chapter III the narrator discusses various members of his extended family. He recalls specifically his uncle Muzzammil, a scientist working in San Diego. The narrator also describes his two cousins, Ayesha G and Ayesha M. The narrator describes the significance of his family members’ names and what they signify in relation to their namesakes in the Quran.

The narrator then describes his great aunt, Asma, a literature and critical theory professor. The narrator recalls meeting Asma for lunch in Providence in 1994. At their meeting, they discuss the work of Salman Rushdie and the meaning that his books carry for Muslims.

The narrator then goes on to describe his last trip to Pakistan in 2008. He visits his aunt Ruxana in Abbottabad, a heavily militarized city where later Osama bin Laden would be found in hiding. Over dinner, Ruxana’s husband, Nasseem...