How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph.Page)
Quote #10
He talked about a certain recklessness in the face of a grinding lack of opportunity, about how death was not much feared. About the drag races held deep in the desert, where young wealthy men raced their BMWs and Ferraris and some of them would be hurt or killed and none of it would be widely reported or known. (XXVI.83.239)
When Alan ventures outside of Jeddah with Yousef and Salem, he gets an earful about the reality of life in Saudi Arabia. His companions are young men, but Alan understands that their hopelessness is much more like his than it ought to be. They're already weary of their lot in life. It's a malaise that's part of youth culture in Saudi Arabia, as Dr. Hakem later confirms.