Hollow Fires

“Fact: The dead can’t speak. / Truth: Sometimes the dead whisper to you, in the quiet: Don’t let them forget I was here once.”

Samira Ahmed opens each of Safiya’s chapters with two or more statements labeled as truth, lies, alternative facts, or facts. This quote foreshadows the relationship between Safiya and Jawad’s ghost.

“I made a jet pack. And they killed me for it.”

This quote introduces Jawad to the reader and highlights the dissonance between reality (Jawad made a jet pack) and perception twisted by Islamophobia (Jawad made a fake bomb). The author uses simple syntax to show how one lie led to so much violence.

“Illinois State Senator Questions Lax Naturalization Process In Light Of Alleged Bomb Threat.”

Ahmed structures the novel to include in-world media (such as this newspaper headline—one of several published after Jawad’s arrest) to tell her story. This headline provides an example of how local politicians misrepresented Jawad and his family to serve a larger political agenda.