[1] In his twenties around the turn of the century, Rihani was actively involved in the cultural scene of New York City, and he helped establish some of the earliest Arab-American literary societies.

There is also a wry and satirical humor deployed throughout the work, and Rihani's personal perspective on the merits of the protagonist's expressions can be difficult to ascertain at times.

They move into a wet cellar in the Little Syria community of Lower Manhattan near Battery Park and begin to peddle counterfeit Holy Land trinkets and religious items throughout the city, a typical Arab endeavor in America.

While Shakib, although himself a poet, is focused and accumulates savings through peddling, Khalid becomes distracted and turns away from commercial activity toward frantically consuming Western literature and participating in the New York City intellectual and bohemian scene.

Describing the result of their return, Christoph Schumann has stated that "the subsequent course of events mirrors the progress of his American experience: spiritual retreat, political activism, and persecution.

After burning the official excommunication order in the town square of Baalbek, he sets off a battle of opposing sides and is sent by Ottoman troops to a prison in Damascus.

He evolves into a self-identified "voice" for the Arabs, and chooses to return to spread his views on liberation from the Ottoman empire and on the importance of religious unity and scientific progress.

He travels to Damascus where he speaks in the Great Mosque about his views of the West and of religious tradition, producing a riot and prompting the Ottoman authorities to pursue his arrest.

The central theme of the novel is the attempt to reconcile the culture and values of "the West" and "the East," a universal concern in Rihani's work, and, indeed, entire approach to life.

Khalid ruminates constantly on the merits and future destiny of America, which he connects to the Arab world in their own struggles with the Ottoman empire and with religious intolerance and conflict.

Like Rihani himself, who synthesized two distinct cultures perhaps more than almost any other writer of the time, Khalid, having experienced America (and considered its strength and weaknesses) during his stay of several years, returns and develops a philosophy that engages the Arab public directly.

[6] In March 2012 Melville House Publishing issued an edition of The Book of Khalid which includes Kahlil Gibran's illustrations and an essay by Todd Fine.

Contributors include Geoffrey Nash, Christoph Schumann, Layla Al Maleh, Waïl S. Hassan, Youssef Choueiri, Nathan C. Funk, Hani Bawardi, and Ameen Albert Rihani.