by Chantal Hachem

Created on: February 17, 2009

For over seven years now, since the aftermath of 9/11, people have been writing about every possible angle of terrorism.

There is a great necessity for people to know what caused such an occurrence. What goes through the mind of someone who plots such a terrible obliteration of human life?

John Updike, a prolific and accomplished writer recently passed away. Before he died, Updike wrote his final novel, aptly titled "Terrorist". In it he creates characters so real and settings so sensory, one feels as if they could walk right into the book and become part of it or at least a fly on the wall of the most intimate of conversations that take place.

Updike has an amazing ability to introduce us into cultures with such detail and accuracy, in this case, the world of a high school boy, the protagonist, Ahmad. We see him in the culture of a New York high school and how Ahmad perceives the culture with great criticism and disgust. We also see him in the culture of his Imam "Rashid", from whom he learns the suras of the Qur'an. Updike goes tot great lengths in his research to quote in Arabic verses of the Qur'an and applicable part to show the "brainwashing" of Ahmad.

Many people may not understand the mentality of a "crazed" America hating Muslim, but Updike shows all the elements and how Ahmad's ideas develop into what seems logical to him.

Ahmad is fatherless, seemingly looking for male mentorship but finding it in the wrong people. The hero in the book is what seemed to be a sketch of the author himself, a sixtyish man who is essentially good but beaten down by life, a school counselor desperately trying to help Ahmad fulfill his potential as he sees him as a gifted boy going astray.

The book is gritty, and even though we may see the world of America in negative terms, it is us who also feel this same desire to want to "purify" ourselves, or distance ourselves from so much of overt sexuality, ugliness and sheer ordinariness of living a day to day life in a big city.

Terrorist will surprise you. It is not a political thriller with huge conspiracies and multiple chase scenes, it is not a made for movie book. It is however, realistic and Updike's characters are finely drawn and offer great insight into the human spirit, the desire to live or die. The book leads one to question the nature of religion in one's life and the book ultimately leaves one with hope which is something we can all use some of today.

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