Summary

In Chapter 11, the men in pink shirts visited Mahmoud at the hotel and took him to Majid. Majid gave him a cup of tea he called “the tongue loosener” (168), supposedly made from the tongues of various animals. Majid confronted Mahmoud with some details he had gleaned about Mahmoud's past, specifically that he had been charged with “inciting murder” (169) back in Amara. Majid then mentioned Mahmoud's article about the Whatsitsname and demanded to know more. Mahmoud told Majid where to find Hadi and gave him the digital recorder, though he had another copy of the Whatsitsname's speech on a flash drive. Majid then claimed that his description of the tea was a joke; it was really a medicated tea meant to prevent a person from having a heart attack during questioning.

Mahmoud then recalled the incident that caused...