Home Boy

By Hussain M.Naqvi
Author Biography:-
1. Hussain M. Naqvi is a novelist (currently based in Karachi) who is the author of Home
Boy, winner of the inaugural DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.
2. He was born in London in 1973 and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan.
3. He moved to Karachi in 2007.
4. He has written on contemporary Pakistani art, minorities, and Balochistan for the Global
Post and on Karachi for Forbes.
5. His works includes:
The selected works of Abdullah the Cossack : a novel
Home boy : a novel
6. He received awards which are as follows:
Ora Mary Phelam Poetry Prize
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for Home Boy – Winner (2011)
Hussain M.Naqvi as a novelist:-

Fiction based on “war on terror” is in constant evaluation and

Pakistani writers are ‘writing back’ to these western dominant discourses.
As a second generation writer Hussain M.Naqvi report identity crisis
resulting from antagonism between Islam and West.
His novel ‘Homeboy’ provides historical context of 9/11,
religious extremism and U.S real politics.
Homeboy (novel):-
The novel is bittersweet, sharply observed. It is tale of immigrants, a
mystery, a story of love and loss as well as mediation on notions of collective
identity.

The novel is a journey of three youngmen in NewYork city; AC, Jimbo

and Chuck, the narrator. These characters realise that they are in changed,
charged America after 9/11.

The novel explores impacts of “war on terror”. It presents an insider’s

view of NewYork but sense of place is exotic, shallow as NewYork is only
shallow.
Title of the Novel:-

The title taken by Naqvi is appropriate to highlight identity crisis

of three three Pakistani men in NewYork city.

The title suggests struggle of characters to adopt “Americanness”

in U.S. They reject their Pakistani national identity to assimilate in
Western culture by such means. i.e:- anglicize names, listen to hip hop,
party and snort cocaine.

Despite all efforts to become ‘Homeboys’ in NewYork, they are

not able to as their behavior “defined by certain context”.
Major Issues of Novel:-
The novel explores several issues related to American and Islamic
world relationships in the context of post 9/11.
The novel foregrand encounter between America and Muslim
‘other’ where term ‘A-rab’ mutated overnight.
The text captures how pluralities a trait of American melting pot
gets altered for three youngmen in wake of 9/11.
Politicized climate is characterized by fear of ‘others’ as terrorist and
exotic.
The novel brings to light how 9/11 attacks ended up in production
of colonial discourse which resulted in hatred of Muslims and racist
attitudes towards them.
Western stereotypes and Muslims:-
Aroosa Kanwal presents in “Rethinking identities” that war on terror
links post 9/11 stereotyping of Muslims and Islam in West.
The “war on terror” equating Muslims and terrorism become us
narrative.
Radical change after 9/11.
Two men at bar mistake, Chuck far an A-rab terrorist and give him
black eye.
Jimbo’s wealthy white girlfriend begins to exude whiffs of
Islamophobia.
In the prison for investigation they are grilled questions regarding
religious and national affilities.
As Chuck describes his experience in detention centre.
“I closed my eyes like a child attempting to render myself invisible.”
Identity crisis/Hybridity/Hyphenated identity:-
In global set-up individual are torn between choice. Though
caught in split identities they preter to perform Americans, till 9/11.
The split of identities can be seen from Jimbo’s girlfriend, Duck
remark.
“You guys are like one way here, like hordcore, homeboys, but when you
go home, you become different or proper conservative.You have to
decide what you’ke about.”
The naming of three characters show their hyphenated identity.
Ali Chaudhary as AC.
Aka Jamshaid as Jimbo.
Aka shehzad as Chuck.
In NewYork. Jimbo uses urban catch phrases to present his
Americanness, has relation with women, drinks but at home he chews
cardamom powder after smoking, for fear of affending father.
Traumatic effects of post 9/11:-

The character in novel abide by Bhabha’s view that trauma

following terrorist attacks has left ‘Muslim’ youth both nationally
uprooted, homeless.

The experience in detention centre instills in Chuck a sense of

reality and makes him strip last strand of Americanness that he took
pride in possessing.

Colonial discourse after 0/11 reduce Pakistan to as colonial

subject.
Epiphany:-

As post 9/11 fiction is a work of resistance. It resists,

rejects.Stereotypical misrepresentation of Muslims.

The characters in ‘Homeboy’ release that they belong to

“Bumfuckistan” and have got no ‘fucking rights’.

As tragedy unfolds real U.S politics they cling to their political,

cultural and religion roots.

In end of novel, Islam become as means of solace and resistance

for traumatized Chuck.
“Positioning myself generally, east, towards Mecca, recited they call to
prayer.”
Conclusion:-

Chuck, AC and Jimbo are left as being insider and alien, terrorist
and terrorized.

They resist and question method of American society as they fail

to become homeboys.

Unable to life comfortable with hyphenated identity in wake of

9/11 they denounce modernity and resort to tradition.

American as a melting pot fails to assimilate Muslim and

American selves in wake of 9/11.

As Chuck says, “I am afraid of them, I feel like an animal. It’s no

way to live.”
 Aroosa Kanwal traces in the contemporary United States “a
shift from Orientalist epistemology to terrorist ontology” in the post
9/11 climate in which ‘Muslimness’ has become synonymous with
terror(ism) and violence, and in which every Muslim can easily be
labelled as a terrorist through Muslim identities as well as of Islamic
fundamentalism.
Group Members:-
Sadia Shehbaz
Iqra Yousaf
Fozia Mai
Farah