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Few times have I read a book that have forced me to stay up extra late to get "just one more page" in. Michael Muhammad Knight does that expertly with his story of Muslim Punks living in Buffalo. Each character within the story is a different archetype of Islam (from the fundamentalist Umar to liwaticore Muzammil and everything in between), and this works wonderfully to see the interactions and reactions of varying belief systems. Especially engaging was Rabeya, the burqa-wearing feminist who crosses out verses in the Qur'an that promote the inequality of women.

All of this is set against the backdrop of my hometown of Buffalo, New York. Knight uses the setting well to embellish the story, and there were a few times that I thought "This story couldn't have taken place anywhere else." Buffalo becomes something of a character as well -- echoing the moods and thoughts of several characters.

Don't pick up The Taqwacores expecting a glossary defining the Arabic and Islamic phrases/customs. I had my phone next to me while reading just so I could look up terminology as I went along. But this is also a great aspect of the book: Knight doesn't pander to a greater audience. He expects you to come knowing your shit, and if you don't he expects you to learn as you go. It would have taken away from the story to have footnotes or a glossary, and I think that The Taqwacores is far better for leaving out this aspect.

Unfortunately, I think that Knight stumbled a bit at the end. He had set up these amazing characters whose lives were interesting and who I wanted to meet up and hang out with, but near the end focuses more on the sexuality of Yusef, the speaker of the book. There were frequent passages about his masturbation which, after the first time, weren't really necessary. I also wasn't happy with the "wrap-up" chapter at the end. For such a progressive book, I feel like Knight cheapened the blow by drawing things to a close. It's by no means neat (in a way like Austen or Dickens would have written), but it is still taking the reader away from the immediacy of the novel and giving him/her an ending that may not (and did not for me) fit with the character.

I struggled between giving this book a four or a five star rating. In the end, however, I find that the book's merits far outweigh my nitpicking complaints. When I finished the book, I was angry not necessarily at the outcome, but at the fact that my time spent with these characters was over. I'm going to miss my Friday morning jumaa and Friday night punk rawk party at the Taqwacore house.