The muslim cowboy twitter

In the aftermath of the Iraq war an odd Iraqi man entranced by Americana and old Western movies dresses in double denim and roams a lawless landscape in search of his own Western story Amidst the disorder he meets a young girl and together they set out across the tank strewn desert on his trusty camel to find safety Written with a simplicity of direction that captivates like a film The Muslim Cowboy is an extraordinary and mesmerising literary debut about the search for identity the struggle to reconcile conflicting values and sacrifice as that great virtue we all must embrace to find meaning and purpose in a world of chaos Bruce Omar Yates was born in London to an Indian mother and an English father He grew up in the south of France before returning to London to study Literature and Film at King s College London He was the principal songwriter in the rock groups Famy who released their album We Fam Econo in 2014 and Los Porcos who released their album Porco Mio in 2016 The Muslim Cowboy is his first novel The Muslim CowboyI think this book really would have benefitted from being longer The premise and the idea is amazing but I think it lacked a bit of development for me 256 Really really incredible Immensely cinematic and expressive in very few fragmented lines of dialogue the presence these characters have is staggering I had to stop reading for a week because I was so worried for them at one point I love this take on the world of the Western so much cowboy media feels overwrought and contrived to me and this in its ludicrous and whimsical adoption of western iconography manages to repeat some of the most run of the mill genre tropes in a way that feels completely original and revelatory Using this jarring out of place lens The American is able to interpret his environment as both an insider and an outsider I am so fascinated by the idea of him adopting a movie cowboy identity to distance himself from the horrors of his past going as far as pretending not to speak Arabic despite because of the way it totally ostracises him from his peers I just adored and admired every aspect of this book Really something 256 Rating And then with a start he says In Iraq it s better not to think about friendship The most important thing is to survive and then he says Friendship is bad for survival and To have friends is to be attached and after two become attached is when they can be split In THE MUSLIM COWBOY we meet the American and his camel Hosti as they re travelling to an unknown destination sleeping rough scavenging food and trying their best to avoid the pockets of conflict across Iraq The American is very much a lone ranger inspired by the old Western films he so adores until one day he meets a young girl Nadia and together they set out to find safety The complex ever changing relationship between the American and Nadia was beautifully written Initially caring for her out of a sense of obligation or duty we see the American end up truly caring for Nadia a blossoming friendship emerging Despite the violence that peppers this book s pages there are moments of calm as well as pure joy shared between these two characters which were wonderful to read THE MUSLIM COWBOY tells the story of an unlikely friendship and survival against all odds Yates skilfully combines many themes seen in Western films with the complex and volatile nature of post war Iraq creating an incredibly unique story that I ended up thoroughly enjoying 256 A true western Two real lives A poetic retelling 256