Tripping With Allah

There are few, if any, Muslim writers like Knight (Why I Am A Five Percenter), who has been called the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature. This memoir of his time with the spiritual group Santo Daime and ayahuasca, the psychedelic drug community members ingest to get closer to the divine, cements Knight's status as Islam's gonzo experimentalist. The book references 1980s wrestling and cartoons, graphic descriptions of Knight's eating disorder while he was living out of his car, and his sexual dysfunction before he ingests ayahuasca. When he finally takes the drug, it is a fascinating, odd trip, but one that transforms him for the better and seems to make him understand women with a humanity that eluded him during his misogynistic past. Knight has a gift for humor and honesty, though it's not always clear where, or if, his trip will end. Chapters about coffee, cannabis, and other drugs seem off-topic, but Knight's storytelling allows for a memorable arrival at the destination. (Mar.)