Comment on language and style

The tone of the novel’s prose supports the novel’s grave questions regarding pursuit of personal and national identity. Askar’s birth is inextricably tied to the concept of death, and his relationship with his home country is highly characterized by the violence involved in attempting to preserve freedom and autonomy. Askar struggles with these paradoxical and volatile concepts as he also struggles for a sense of stability and identity. Askar asks himself questions such as “Am I a refugee? Am I an unperson?” (175). These haunting questions are coupled with the violence that begins to progressively infect the country, such as when Misra’s body is discovered: “The heart was missing…We suspect they performed a ritual murder on her body” (252).