In 2015, Demian Vitanza was working in Norway’s Halden Prison when he met a young Norwegian-Pakistani man serving a sentence for terrorist activities. Vitanza spent over 100 hours interviewing him, and this remarkably compelling book is a fictionalised account of those conversations. In the novel, the young man is named Tariq Khan. He’s been living a very westernised life, partying, drugs, girls, in general enjoying himself, but then gradually this hedonistic life-style starts to pall and he becomes increasingly drawn to the certainties of Islam, eventually becoming radicalized and travelling to Syria to undertake jihad. It reminded me of Asne Seierstad’s powerful non-fiction account Two Sisters, girls who follow the same trajectory. The novel is in the form of an interview with an unheard interlocutor, and told in Tariq’s own words in response to the questions posed and all from his point of view. This is an incredibly effective way into the mind-set of a potential terrorist, to see the conflicts he faces, the decisions he makes and how an ordinary assimilated young man can become disillusioned with what the west offers and how the lure of extremism can take hold. Tariq is a disconcertingly empathetic character, in no way a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out of what we assume a terrorist to be, but someone we can’t help feeling some connection with. As the narrative progresses, it becomes increasingly chilling and unsettling, especially knowing that it is based on a true story. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, insightful and balanced, this is an important book which adds to the debate about radicalisation and fundamentalism, and if it humanizes the terrorist, which some readers may object to, at least it shows that there are always more sides to a story than we might at first suppose.

I have so many feelings that I can't even begin to untangle them. This was a fascinating look at the complexity of the Syrian Civil War (and all the groups of foreigners who further complicated matters) and the narrator (a modern angry-young-man who just wants to help because Islam tells you to help where/when you can) is an unusual viewpoint. But this might be too soon to me because I can't even begin to detangle how I personally feel about the situation (which continues to this day...), Tariq's feelings, and ...
So yeah, as a conclusion to this very inadequate review is, Vitanza is going to make you have SO MANY feelings.

As intense as his book is, you cannot help but empathize with Tariq. He's an outsider even before he can speak himself into existence and the challenges he faces are nothing compared to the consequences he faces.
It's well written and there's this brutal honesty that oozes from Tariq. Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

I really liked this view of another culture by a strong character not afraid to seek and challenge. The writing was clear and strong and still filled with imagery and descriptions.

This review will be posted on my blog, Beyond the Lamp Post, on 27 September 2018 in preparation for its 9 October 2018 release.

This Life or the Next (AmazonCrossing, written by Demian Vitanza, translated from Norwegian by Tanya Thresher) is the fictionalised story of “Tariq Khan”, a Norwegian Pakistani man who travelled to Syria to undertake jihad. Based on more than 100 hours of discussion with a foreign fighter who returned to Norway and was imprisoned for his involvement with terrorist organisations, both the subject of the book and the author altered details to create a fictional work that nevertheless tells something of a true story.

Upon reviewing drafts of early chapters of the book, Tariq comments that he thinks his character says ‘right’ and ‘y’know’ more often than he does in reality, and he has a point. At times, there are elements of the characterisation that appear contrived (such as Tariq needing to be reminded of what sunflower seeds were called) or unrealistic (like some of the vocabulary used by a character who ostensibly had too low a GPA to go to high school), and he does say ‘right’ and ‘y’know’ a lot. Over time, however, these issues become less noticeable as the story itself is incredibly compelling.

Tariq doesn’t hate anyone, he doesn’t have a vendetta against the West, and his attraction to Sharia Law is based on a preference for rules created by God over those imposed by man. He is a likeable and, more importantly, empathetic, character who talks about his friends, his family, and the difficult moral dilemmas he faces, both in deciding to go to Syria and in deciding how to respond to the situations that arise once there. In reading his story, there are times where it is almost possible to forget that Tariq has gone to Syria to take part in a war, because the book captures the small details of the everyday, visiting ice cream shops and making friends with people in a new land, as well as discussing the horrific activities of ISIS and the near-constant presence of suicide belts and Kalashnikovs.

The modern-day news media is full of film clips and sound bites of violence in the Middle East, focused predominantly on the stereotype-conforming one-dimensional villain narrative, but these snapshots do not capture the multi-dimensional human lives that have led to those atrocities. This Life or the Next attempts to remedy this imbalance. Certainly, there will be a range of motivations behind the actions of foreign fighters who pursue jihad, and not all of them would as naïve as Tariq appears to be – in fact, his friends, Carlos and Arbi, each appear to have very different beliefs about their role and purpose in the war – but this is a story that reminds the reader that things are not always as straightforward as they seem.

This Life or the Next is not a book for the faint of heart, as war is brutal, dangerous, and traumatic, and the author does not shy away from that fact. Graphic images aside though, it is, in fact, a very human story, and a captivating one at that.

This is a very interesting memoir. It tells how a boy goes to fight in Syria against the Assad regime.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Although I appreciate the author's POV and his telling of his story, this was not the book for me. Sorry!

A clever way to tell a sad tale of Tariq a Norwegian young man of Pakistan extract who is first a small time drug supplier, than finds Islam and later decides to go to Syria to fight against the Asaad regime. He tells his story whilst in a Norwegian prison.
The story portrays a man who wanted to help the Syrian people but as he was fighting along ISIS/IS types he was, in Norway, a terrorist. What comes through the narrative was the complexity of the various rebel groups, the slow disintegration of their cooperation, the rise of ISIS and the ongoing and complexing brutality of Asaad to his own people.
The narrative sounds as though the author captured Tariq's own voice. It is an effective technique that provides a reality behind Tariq's misunderstood actions against a regime that is completely unable to be understood.