One Hundred and One Nights (9780316191913) (32 page)

1. What images come to mind when you think of the Middle East, and Iraq in particular? To what extent has your knowledge about the region been informed by the media’s coverage of the current conflict? Does
   One Hundred and One Nights
   change the ways you think about Iraq and the people living there? If so, how?
   
2. Abu Saheeh is a man caught between two worlds, strongly tied to his birth country, Iraq, but also greatly influenced by the time he spent in America. What actions does Abu Saheeh take that seem to be based on the Iraqi side of his personality? What actions are more in line with the American side?
   
3. Discuss the relationship between Abu Saheeh and his brother, Yasin. What drives their competition and their hatred of each other? Do you think their behavior goes beyond sibling rivalry?
   
4. Life in the town of Safwan, Iraq—both in
   One Hundred and One Nights
   and, for the most part, in reality—continues relatively normally, despite the toll taken by three major wars in three decades. How do you think your community would react to war if it were similarly unlucky?
   
5. Layla’s fascination with America is shared by many young people in the Middle East, yet there is also a backlash against Western cultural, economic, and military imperialism. How does this tension play out in
   One Hundred and One Nights
   ?
   
6. Many of Abu Saheeh’s actions have unintended consequences. Do you think he could have foreseen them? Do you hold him responsible? Why or why not?
   
7. Against his will, Abu Saheeh takes on Abd al-Rahim as an apprentice. In what ways does Abd al-Rahim support and even save Abu Saheeh, and in what ways does he work against him? Discuss how their relationship progresses over the course of the novel.
   
8. Has anyone close to you experienced the tragic loss of a family member? If so, what similarities or differences did you notice between this person’s reactions and the ways Abu Saheeh deals with his grief?
   
9. Abu Saheeh says that there is “an older and more respected reason for war than blind jihad” (page 275). Do you agree with him? Do you think that war is ever justifiable? Why or why not?
   
10. Benjamin Buchholz served as a liaison for the U.S. Army in Safwan. How do you think his experiences shaped the novel? Does the story have more authority because of his time there?
    
11. The novel’s title is an allusion to
    The Arabian Nights.
    What are the similarities and differences between the two texts? How is Layla like Scheherazade?
    

“One Hundred and One Nights
is a fearless and seductive piece of ventriloquism by a storyteller in full command of his craft. Written in spare, lyrical prose from the point of view of an Iraqi doctor haunted by violence, this first novel is a spike in the heart, a powerful testimony to the insanity of war and the undeniable demands of love.”

— Hillary Jordan, author of
Mudbound
and
When She Woke

“Benjamin Buchholz’s brilliant debut offers a powerful look at life in war-torn Iraq. Stocked with finely drawn characters and political intrigue,
One Hundred and One Nights
blows down the highway with all the furious momentum of an army convoy while delivering its real prize: a heart-wrenching story of love and loss and redemption.”

—Zoë Ferraris, author of
City of Veils