Book Reviews
The Monk of Mokha is the third in [Eggers's] series of real-life accounts of immigrants to America caught in the jaws of history.… Each book is a tale of a latter-day Job and a reflection on the act of storytelling itself, none more so than this latest, in which a singularly reckless young man keeps himself alive like Scheherazade—his ability to spin stories ensures his survival.… Narrative nonfiction …is [Eggers's] natural home. Telling other people's stories seems to focus him. The sentences take on an Orwellian clarity—they're lean and clean.… In The Monk of Mokha, he moves lightly between story and analysis, and between brisk histories of Yemeni immigration to America; gentrifying San Francisco; coffee cultivation …and the saints and thieves who dispersed the beans around the world.
Parul Sehgal - New York Times
A true account of a scrappy underdog, told in a lively, accessible style.… Absolutely as gripping and cinematically dramatic as any fictional cliffhanger.
Michael Lindgren - Washington Post
Exquisitely interesting.… This is about the human capacity to dream—here, there, everywhere.
Gabriel Thompson - San Francisco Chronicle
A cracking tale of intrigue and bravery.… A gripping, triumphant adventure story.
Paul Constant - Los Angeles Times
A heady brew.… Plainspoken but gripping.… Dives deep into a crisis but delivers a jolt of uplift as well.
Mark Athitakis - USA Today
Remarkable.… [O]ffers hope in the age of Trump.… Ends as a kind of breathless thriller as Mokhtar braves militia roadblocks, kidnappings and multiple mortal dangers.
Tim Adams - Guardian (UK)
[T]he exciting true story of a Yemeni-American man’s attempts to promote his ancestral country’s heritage.… [A] heartwarming success story with a winning central character and an account of real-life adventures that read with the vividness of fiction.
Publishers Weekly
The son of Yemini immigrants… journeys to his parents' homeland to learn more about its cultivation and help Yemeni farmers return their crops to the renown they once had. All's well until… Mokhtar finds he's… trapped in the crosscurrents of sectarian violence.
Library Journal
[A] phenomenally well-written, juggernaut of a tale of an intrepid and irresistible entrepreneur on a complex and meaningful mission. This highly caffeinated adventure story is ready-made for the big screen.
Booklist
(Starred review) [T]his book is about …the undeniable value of "U.S. citizens who maintain strong ties to the countries of their ancestors and who, through entrepreneurial zeal and dogged labor, create indispensable bridges between the developed and developing worlds…."
Kirkus Reviews