Give me your tired, your poor
Where did our compassion go?
Join us today, Wednesday, July 9, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern when we speak with journalist and former ABC News anchor Terry Moran. Then today at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, welcome back to The Ink Book Club, as we dig into the timely themes of Karim Dimechkie’s The Uproar. Watch on desktop at The Ink or join us from a phone or tablet with the Substack app. The Book Club is open to all supporting subscribers of The Ink, so join us now to take part!
Have you dipped into Karim Dimechkie’s The Uproar yet? If so, have you found it hard to pace yourself? What do you think makes the novel so propulsive? And how much does this book make you think of Bonfire of the Vanities? (Full disclosure — we’ve thought about Tom Wolfe’s novel a lot while reading.)
As you’ll learn in more detail when we sit down with author Karim Dimechkie on July 23, he drew from his own experience as a social worker in New York City in writing The Uproar. He was drawn to the job out of a sense of despair after Trump was elected in 2016, wanting to turn his sense of powerlessness into purpose—to counter the cruelty and divisiveness he was witnessing unfold; that need is palpable as you read this novel.
The job brought him “into close proximity with the stark contrast between those who have the resources to weather a small mistake or stroke of bad luck and those who don’t.” That contrast plays out sharply between Sharif—who has a safety net—and Emmanuel, who wants to stand up for himself and his son, but is vulnerable in multiple ways.
Some thoughts and questions in advance of our meeting:
The novel’s central couple, Sharif and Adjoua, are both intensely self-conscious, concerned with how others see them and whether they are “good people,” but it is not clear how self-aware they are. How much do they misunderstand (or just miss) how they fit in (or don’t) with their neighbors, friends, and families?
Even if you haven’t gotten into the book yet, you may be familiar with Bonfire of the Vanities, either the book or the film. Both stories deal with the interactions of rich and poor in New York City, with life-threatening and life-changing consequences. In Bonfire, the do-gooders are cynical and manipulative, while in Uproar, they seem to suffer from a need to be authentic in a way they don’t have access to. How much do you think this reflects the changes in how Americans see themselves, from the 1980s to the 2020s?
So much of this book hangs on Sharif and Adjoua’s attachment to Judy, their dog. Does their love for Judy overwhelm their ability to relate to the human beings around them? What do you think that means in the context of Dimechkie’s story?
Emmanuel bravely stands up for his son despite his undocumented status, the implications of which Sharif seems not to grasp, though even other characters point out how hard this is to accept given his social work background. Is Sharif exploiting Emmanuel and his family by foisting Judy on him in the first place?
Karim wrote The Uproar aware of Trump’s reelection, but before the rise of America’s secret police, and part of its plot hinges on the working of sanctuary city laws and private philanthropy filling the gaps in public spending. Does the book already read as somehow out of a different world even now? Does the rise of Zohran Mamdani seem like a clear reaction to the city as Dimechkie draws it?
There’s a concept important to the book, inattentional blindness, the idea that it’s possible to miss obvious things because your attention is focused elsewhere. Hopefully, this isn’t too much of a spoiler, but part of the book focuses on a fictionalized retelling of a real police shooting where the defense was built on this concept, but do you see this idea at work throughout the book?
Let us know your thoughts—or any other ideas or questions you might have for later today—in the comments, and we’ll do our best to get to them during the discussion. And if you’re looking for some food for thought, just click on the links below to visit our previous discussions of The Uproar:
How to participate in the Book Club
We’ll post questions—our discussion guide—every Sunday, and each Wednesday we’ll meet for a discussion with the Club or a visit from an author or other special guest. Look out for posts with further details. We’ll also host chat threads to get your insight on key questions in advance of our meetings.
Today’s meeting, on Wednesday, July 9, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, will be on Substack Live. To join and watch, download the Substack app (click on the button below) and turn on notifications—you’ll get an alert once we’re live, and you can watch, chat, and participate in the conversation live on video during our Book Club meetings from your iOS or Android mobile device. If you’re using a computer, you can watch (and ask questions in the text chat) on our homepage, but you won’t be able to join the conversation live on camera.
Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
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