“American Boys” (I Will Greet the Sun Again), by Khashayar J. Khabushani, translation from English (United States) by Charles Bonnot, Denoël, 256 p., €22, digital €16.
He dreams of becoming a Californian like any other (which, at the level of his son’s eyes, means wearing a Dodgers cap, getting tattoos and trying all the beers America has), which is why he calls himself ” K”, because his first Iranian sounding name inspires him with shame. “I have never seen or considered America as anything more than a big, beautiful house, our home.”writes the narrator ofamerican boysnot without a hint of jealousy for his two older brothers who are lucky enough to be named Justin and Shawn.
K is 9 years old when his story begins. He grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, where his Iranian parents settled before his birth. Their mother works tirelessly to give them a better life while their father, Baba, a former engineer in Tehran, drinks, plays and reminisces about his youth. One day, the latter took his children to his hometown, Isfahan, without telling his wife. The three boys, disoriented, discover a complex and rugged country. Until Baba does the unthinkable: he rapes K. It will take all of her aunt’s courage to rescue her nephews from the clutches of this toxic father and send them back to Los Angeles, with their mother.
Back home, they try to get their lives back on track, but the United States, hit by the September 11 attacks, has changed. She sank into paranoia. Racism against Muslims is unleashed and hardly forgives the brothers. How can we become an “American boy” when suspicion no longer leaves our eyes, when fear, and even hatred, replaces indifference in our hearts? To show that he is willing to give his life for this land where he was born, Justin enlists in the army. Shawn is passionate about basketball. K, for his part, gropes, explores his homosexuality and, little by little, heals the wounds inflicted by Baba thanks to his friend Johnny.
The awakening of the body
In this first novel of autobiographical inspiration, Khashayar J. Khabushani tells a subtle story of emancipation, where taboos weigh on hearts, where the search for adolescent identity joins that of second-generation immigrants, trapped in a conflict of loyalty between two cultures. . Like the brothers he plays, the 32-year-old writer, who studied philosophy at California State University and taught college, grew up between Tehran and Los Angeles.
You have 48.9% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
