Internment

“And though you batter my body / commanding me to kneel before you / I resist.”

Using the poetry of Layla’s father as an epigraph establishes two ideas critical to the novel. The first is the power of the written word to inspire in dark, difficult times, and the second is the need for the heroic of heart to resist surrender to evil, despite the punishment such resistance involves. The epigraph foreshadows Layla’s own interrogation sessions with the camp Director.

“I pretend the world beyond the curtains doesn’t exist. Being in his arms is the only thing that feels real right now.”

Layla is more than a freedom fighter. The novel carefully tracks how Layla, with her courage, her determination, and her faith in the power of activism, is still a teenager and very much in love. Here, she and David enjoy a quiet moment even as the government’s armed security officers are gathering to begin the relocation of Muslim Americans.

“But the lies, the rhetoric, calling refugees rapists and criminals, the fake news, the false statistics, all gave those well-meaning people who say they’re not bigots cover to vote for a man who openly tweeted his hatred of us on nearly a daily basis.”

Internment is a novel of the Trump era that never actually mentions Trump by name. Layla, in criticizing her parents for their lack of outrage over the direction the country is moving, reviews the volatile and dangerous conditions in America, each a familiar talking point from Trump’s campaign and time in office.