Anvar Faris

Anvar is one of the novel’s two central characters. He was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. When He was about 12 years old, he and his family moved from Pakistan to America in order to escape the rising violence in Pakistan. Anvar’s parents are both Muslim, but Anvar consistently has difficulty investing himself in Muslim practices. When he is a teenager, he develops romantic feelings for a friend named Zuha Shah. They date in the first half of college but then break up due to disagreements about religion.

After college, Anvar feels the desire to be more religious. He also becomes a lawyer but quickly becomes discouraged by a major failure. He becomes increasingly passive until an Iraqi refugee (Safwa/Azza) asks him for help in escaping her abusers and the U.S. government. Anvar and Azza have a temporary sexual relationship, but Anvar eventually...