Disorientation ― Muslim Identity in Contemporary Anglophone Literature

This book focuses on the struggles and strategies of the Muslim woman immigrant to Britain after 9/11, as depicted in a group of thematically-related novels published over the past decade. The book looks at the work of Monica Ali, Leila Aboulela, Fadia Faqir, Camilla Gibb, Kia Abdullah, Almas Khan and Nadeem Aslam - all of whom raise questions about the integration of the Muslim woman who has moved from a majority position in her Muslim homeland to a minority position in her adopted home in Britain (usually London). Drawing on the idea of 'disorientation' (a period of withdrawal, confusion and alienation experienced by the Muslim woman after arrival in the West), this book argues for a greater focus on religion as an element of immigrant identity-creation, ultimately showing that the heterogeneity of immigrant religious experience requires a new and more complex understanding of diasporic existence.

Esra Mirze Santesso is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Georgia, USA, where she teaches postcolonial literature. She has published a wide range of articles on contemporary British literature, Muslim diasporic identity, and Turkish literature and film, including an interview with Orhan Pamuk.