Mokhtar Alkhanshali and Dave Eggers: The Monk of Mokha

For this nonfiction narrative, The Monk of Mokha, Dave Eggers writes about young Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a Yemeni-American living in Northern California. Mokhtar’s is the story of an immigrant trying to bridge Yemen, the country of his ancestors, with the US, the country where he lives. The heart of the book is Mokhtar’s trip to Yemen, where he learns about coffee in the country where it was first brewed. He seeks to become an importer, but he finds himself caught in the Yemeni civil war. Ultimately, The Monk of Mokha illustrates how we are all on the verge of becoming what we are meant to be.

Photos by Christopher Ho.