The Infidel

the long version

Set in contemporary Turkey, the novel weighs the elements of truth that wash out of Turkey's consciousness in the wake of its historical massacres. In a culture where civic events, history and theology are often tranquilized the novel creates a path to truth for those with "ears to hear and eyes to see." The eloquent narrative of Jesus the Infidel becomes the eyewitness account of the formative events that occurred in Turkish Kurdistan in the first quarter of the twentieth century. What is revealed is as much enigma as it is story for the journalist, Tarik, who tape records and researches Jesus the Infidel's account. In counterpoint to his objective research, Tarik is forced to grapple with his own ignorance of his country's past as well as his own personal history of privilege.