From the jacket: "A jury gathers in Manhattan to select a memorial for the victims of a devastating terrorist attack. Their fraught deliberations complete, the jurors open the envelope containing the anonymous winner's name--and discover he is an American Muslim....Their conflicted response is only a preamble to the country's." This book looked at the issues from all angles through each character's perspective. It was thoughtful and interesting and made me consider many points of view. It was also interesting to think about how each character's action or reaction led to another which either eased a situation or made it more explosive.....a really good book. ( )

Pearl Rule #5 (p47)

[The Submission] by [[Amy Waldman]]

The Publisher Says: Ten years after 9/11, a dazzling, kaleidoscopic novel reimagines its aftermath and wonders what would happen if a Muslim-American was blindly chosen to plan the World Trade Center Memorial.

Claire Harwell hasn't settled into grief; events haven't let her. Cool, eloquent, raising two fatherless children, Claire has emerged as the most visible of the widows who became a potent political force in the aftermath of the catastrophe. She longs for her husband, but she has found her mission: she sits on a jury charged with selecting a fitting memorial for the victims of the attack.

Of the thousands of anonymous submissions that she and her fellow jurors examine, one transfixes Claire: a garden on whose walls the names of the dead are inscribed. But when the winning envelope is opened, they find the designer is Mohammad Khan - Mo - an enigmatic Muslim-American who, it seems, feels no need to represent anyone's beliefs except his own. When the design and its creator are leaked, a media firestorm erupts, and Claire finds herself trying to balance principles against emotions amid escalating tensions about the place of Islam in America.

A remarkably bold and ambitious debut, The Submission is peopled with journalists, activists, mourners, and bureaucrats who struggle for advantage and fight for their ideals. In this deeply humane novel, the breadth of Amy Waldman's cast of characters is matched by her startling ability to conjure individual lives from their own points of view. A striking portrait of a city - and a country - fractured by old hatreds and new struggles, The Submission is a major novel by an important new talent.

I RECEIVED AN ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER AGES AGO. FINALLY GOT SOME OF IT READ.

My Review: This rubbed me the wrong way:

To Mo the ruins had a timeless quality.

"The way of all fucked-up third-world countries," his seatmate said.
They were left for dinner at a French restaurant hidden behind high earthen walls. There was a garden draped with grapevines, a small apple orchard, and a swimming pool full of Europeans and Americans dive-bombing each other. Chlorine and marjoram and marijuana and frying butter mingled in an unfamiliar, heady mix.
"Wonder what the Afghans think of this," one of the architects said, waving his hand to take in the bikinied women and beery men.
"Hot chicks and fruit trees: they're missing their own paradise," said someone else at the table —Mo hadn't bothered to remember most of their names. "I'm surprised they're not blowing themselves up to get in here."
"Some of them don't have to," his seatmate from the van said, his eyes on Mo.

Yes yes yes, I know I'm not supposed to like these yahoos. I know the exoticization of the "third-world" people and culture are presented as the problem. But I just don't want to read it.

I have no quarrel with the author's wordsmithery, apart from finding it a bit too predictable for me to wax enthusiastic about. Overall, the story isn't calling to me, the characters are facile, the prose is adequate but no more. Not for me, considering how few eyeblinks I have left to me.

The Submission details the story of a contest to design the 9/11 memorial. The winning design is chosen by a blind jury that is unaware of who designed each submission. When it turns out that a Muslim, Mohammed Khan, submitted the winning design, essentially all hell breaks loose.

This book handles its subject matter very well - - showing the issue from every possible angle: the families', the media, the contest winner, the American Muslim community, etc.

This novel was extremely realistic . . .to the point that I almost didn't feel like I was reading a novel. Until the final chapter, it almost read more like an in-depth news expose.

Not quite sure why I couldn't give this five stars. It's very well done, but I think because it is SO focused, and also has a lot of messaging, I think that the impact of the book as a whole is a little bit dulled. I didn't quite care enough about the characters because I didn't see quite enough of their lives outside of the particular specific issue with which they were dealing.

At any rate, if you are interested in 9/11, I definitely would put this on your list. I also feel it would be an excellent book club read with lots to discuss. ( )

Utterly brilliant novel. Insightful, humane, complex, intricately plotted - phenomenally good. ( )

A very interesting premise, what if a Muslim won the competition to design the 9/11 memorial. Reminded me a lot of the controversy surrounding the mosque being built a few blocks from ground zero. The arguments from all sides were very similar here.

Would make a great book to read and discuss with a book club. ( )