MARWAN

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

MARWAN AT MIAMI BOOK FAIR

My novel Marwan will be at the Miami Book Fair November 8-15. Check it out at the AuthorHouse pavilion.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Marwan - A free audiobook by Aram Schefrin Aram Schefrin Category: Literature Free Rating: Haunting and Chilling and Human. A very interesting story, given from the point of view of a 9/11 hijacker. Schefrin is an amazing and highly intelligent story teller.I would recommend this to everyone.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

MARWAN TAKES THIRD

Marwan takes third place in the 2008 Book Contest sponsored by the Santa Fe Trail Creative Arts Guild.

What The Book's About:

MARWAN: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A 9/11 TERRORIST

How did an Egyptian city planner, a Yemeni religious fanatic, a boy from the United Arab Emirates who worshipped sex, not Allah, and a young student of aircraft design who went to a Christian school in Lebanon - four very different men with very different ideas - get involved in flying the 9/11 planes? How did the plot develop, and who developed it?

"Marwan," a novel, puts the reported facts together and fills in the details - from the group's first coming together in Hamburg, Germany, to the moments before the jets they were to hijack took off. You'll come to know the participants, and how they were motivated, what their personal lives were like and the roles they played in the plan. You will learn to know them as people- not simply as "terrorists"- because, as the author sees it, you have to understand your enemies if you want to defend yourself.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY!

A review in the Naples Sun Times:

Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist, is a taut, well-paced exploration of a key episode in contemporary history. Suspenseful and illuminating, Marwan is brilliantly balanced between the compelling narration of known facts and an imaginative response to unanswered questions. Who are these people who found themselves attracted to the suicide mission of flying American airliners into the towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and, if all had gone according to plan, the Capitol building? What shaped them? What made their destinies inevitable? How did they relate to one another? How did they form their opinions about the United States and its purposes? How convinced were they of the holiness of their martyrdom? How pure was their Islamic faith?

Schefrin gives us an intimate portrait of his title character's thoughts and feelings - and his frequent stretches of ambivalence and confusion. Sure-handedly, Schefrin mixes action, densely-textured setting and atmosphere, and characterization. He fashions a convincing world filled with sensory detail, that lends credence to the more speculative and abstract dimensions of the novel.

The author does a remarkable job of keeping the reader engaged, especially considering the fact that the story's outcome is known from the beginning. Along the way, we come to appreciate (or more likely be stunned by) the brilliant simplicity of the terrorist plan and the ease with which a series of interim goals were accomplished, leading to the ultimate objective.

Readers and listeners' comments:

"An engrossing novel that leads up to the worst attack on United States citizens on American soil, Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist is difficult to read, but also difficult to put down.

Marwan doesn't worship Allah and he certainly isn't ready to die for him, so how did he get involved in a plot that would hijack planes with the intent of crashing them into strategically chosen buildings on American soil? From that first meeting in Hamburg, Germany until the moment the planes take off, Marwan has doubts about the plan that is meant to cripple America, tear at its belief system, and return people to the one true God. But in the end, those doubts aren't enough to keep him from doing what must be done.

I approached Marwan with a fair amount of trepidation. As I asked the author when he stopped by The Book Connection in February, did it occur to him that Americans might not be ready for such a book? I wasn't sure I was ready for it, having not been able to watch a single documentary or read one book about September 11th since it happened.

Schefrin does an excellent job of approaching this controversial topic. He mixed known facts with fiction and came out with a balanced look at how the events of September 11th could have unfolded.

There were moments when this reader was disturbed by the thoughts and dialogue:

"If Jesus saw what they've done to him, the next time he would kill himself. Jesus' truth, if he has one, is Islam, not Chritianity." (Page 93)

"'I want you to understand that what we are asking you to do will remake the universe. It will bring down America, and restore the world to Islam....No Muslim has done more for the faith than you will do....And all of Islam will know it. You will be eternal in their eyes.'" (Page 115)

"'Americans are the most filthy of human beings!'" (Page 131)

But those moments are countered by the moments of doubt that Marwan and Jarrah experience. You're dealing with complex and conflicted men whose internal battle is a struggle for what they want versus what is good for Islam.

Marwan begins in New York City in June 2000 and then travels back and forth in time to provide the reader with the necessary backstory to bring them to the final days leading up to the attacks on September 11th. Another book that used this format is Carole Whang Schutter's September Dawn--an equally controverisal title with strong religious ties. In both instances, I found this time traveling format challening to follow, and in Marwan it is further complicated by the changing point of view--which fluctuates between first person and third. This challenge was removed when the time line began to constantly move forward from July 2001 up to the moment when the planes took off.

Schefrin's attention to detail and knowledge of the facts lends much to this novel. And I do believe that the author achieved his objective: "you have to understand your enemies if you want to defend yourself."

In Marwan readers will find a fair and well-researched novel that sheds light on one of the worst moments in American history." - The Book Connection

"Like corn through a goose - that's how I'm going through your great podcast novels. What a treat - great concepts, great humor, and an occasional riff that Hemingway would have been proud to write - the siren sounds in The Tenth Cow, the emptiness of Marwan's mom's life at middle age, to mention but two. Not to blow smoke at you, but you have not only provided me with many interesting hours of listening, you are fulfilling the promise of the worldwide web."

"This was a freaky book. It showed me the compassion of Americans, in that I could feel for these men as a force greater than them compelled them into death .... This book shows the evil of the puppet masters in Islam, and the kind hearts of Americans.. I was upset at the brutality of this perspective, but after a week or two I saw the Good it showed in America.. Schefrin is mind boggling .... all his works are thought provoking ... A Must"

"This is a chilling story based on the documented investigation into the terror attacks. I was curious to see how the author, Aram Schefrin, managed to humanize such a monster. Could a complex individual full of misgivings have flown into the 2nd tower of the World Trade Center? Or would he have to be a complete sociopath? This book was hard to put aside, and the time flew by. "Marwan" was both sad and riveting. Schefrin succeeds at keeping your pity for Marwan separated from your horror of what he has done. And you need to do that to see the next terror attack coming."

"This podcast boldly delves into the characters and events leading up to 9/11 and shows (without excusing) what human beings are capable of. Marwan shines a light into uncomfortable corners and reveals the level of hatred of self and others that it took to carry out such a despicable act."

Available in print at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Borders.com

Available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle

Available as a Mobipocket e-book. Buy it here. It's cheaper.

Available in full-length audio at iTunes and Amazon.com.

Available in podcast audio at Podiobooks.com.

Watch the YouTube trailer!

Mobipocket affiliation

READ IT OR HEAR IT FOR FREE!

The common wisdom is that John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, was a madman and a failure as an actor.

But the truth is that Wilkes was the matinee idol of his time – and the attack on Lincoln was not the act of a maniac, but a part of a plan developed at the highest levels of the Confederacy.

In “Consider the Elephant,” a novel by Aram Schefrin, the story of Wilkes’ life and death is told by his brother, Edwin, the greatest Shakespearean actor of his age. The story is soaked in the ambiance of life in the American theater in the mid nineteenth century, and lays out in detail the path Wilkes took to the top of the celebrity heap and the development in Richmond of the plot to kidnap – later assassinate – the Union President.

YOU CAN READ THE ENTIRE NOVEL, OR LISTEN TO IT, FOR FREE. JUST CLICK HERE, AND THEN CLICK ON THE LINKS TO CHAPTERS IN THE SIDEBAR.

"CONSIDER THE ELEPHANT" IS ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS WITH HYPERLINKS BUILT IN - IF YOU'RE READING ALONG AND ARE PUZZLED OR CURIOUS, CLICK ON THE LINKS TO FIND MUCH MORE INFORMATION ON THE FACTS ON WHICH THIS BOOK IS BASED.

MARWAN

NEW!! READ IT FOR FREE!!

CHAPTER LINKS

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

MARWAN AT MIAMI BOOK FAIR

Saturday, August 22, 2009

A NEW REVIEW AT ITUNES

Saturday, May 17, 2008

MARWAN TAKES THIRD

THEATRES: LOOKING FOR A WORLD PREMIERE SCRIPT?

NeoCounter

What The Book's About:

IF YOU'RE READING THE BOOK NOW ....

Followers

MARWAN

Where To Buy The Book online

MARWAN ON THE WEB

What i do

READ IT OR HEAR IT FOR FREE!

MY OTHER BOOK BLOGS

Blog Archive

LINKS TO NEWS ARTICLES AND BLOGS

RELEVANT NEWS

MARWAN

NEW!! READ IT FOR FREE!!

CHAPTER LINKS

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

MARWAN AT MIAMI BOOK FAIR

Saturday, August 22, 2009

A NEW REVIEW AT ITUNES

Saturday, May 17, 2008

MARWAN TAKES THIRD

THEATRES: LOOKING FOR A WORLD PREMIERE SCRIPT?

NeoCounter

What The Book's About:

IF YOU'RE READING THE BOOK NOW ....

Followers

Subscribe To

MARWAN

Where To Buy The Book online

MARWAN ON THE WEB

What i do

READ IT OR HEAR IT FOR FREE!

MY OTHER BOOK BLOGS

Blog Archive

LINKS TO NEWS ARTICLES AND BLOGS

RELEVANT NEWS