The Mirage

By Matt Ruff

Subjects: Fiction, alternative history, New York Times reviewed, Fiction, Terrorism

Description: Wonderful alternative history (flipping a real tragedy on its head) where fundamentalist Christians bomb towers in Baghdad, Iraq. Mustafa Baghdadi is part of homeland security team in Iraq w. Salim and Amal-fighting Christian terrorism when the twin towers in Baghdad are attacked. Saddam Hussein is a gangster, Osama is a senator with evil intents. Mustafa's team travel to USA to find source of artifacts that suggest the world is a mirage and the U of Arab States is not real, but USA is a superpower, meet David Koresh, Tim McVeigh, Rumsfeld; at end mirage goes away leaving them facing an unknown world.