{"product_id":"9780375706486","title":"Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples","description":"\"Brilliant. . . . A powerfully observed, stylistically elegant exploration.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book of the Year\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The book's strength lies in Naipaul's extraordinary ability as a storyteller to draw striking portraits of a cross section of individuals.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFourteen years after the publication of his landmark travel narrative \u003cb\u003eAmong the Believers\u003c\/b\u003e, V. S. Naipaul returned to the four non-Arab Islamic countries he reported on so vividly at the time of Ayatollah Khomeini's triumph in Iran. \u003cb\u003eBeyond Belief\u003c\/b\u003e is the result of his five-month journey in 1995 through Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia--lands where descendants of Muslim converts live at odds with indigenous traditions, and where dreams of Islamic purity clash with economic and political realities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn extended conversations with a vast number of people--a rare survivor of the martyr brigades of the Iran-Iraq war, a young intellectual training as a Marxist guerilla in Baluchistan, an impoverished elderly couple in Teheran whose dusty Baccarat chandeliers preserve the memory of vanished wealth, and countless others--V. S. Naipaul deliberately effaces himself to let the voices of his subjects come through. Yet the result is a collection of stories that has the author's unmistakable stamp. With its incisive observation and brilliant cultural analysis, \u003cb\u003eBeyond Belief\u003c\/b\u003e is a startling and revelatory addition to the Naipaul canon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Highly accomplished. . . . Another display of Naipaul's remarkable talent.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e (London)","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47020615696624,"sku":"9780375706486","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780375706486_p0.jpg?v=1763692303","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780375706486","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}