_The Night Counter_ by Alia Yunis
Shortly after I arrived in the UAE, I discovered that one of my colleagues and acquaintances had written a novel. She even did a book tour and many people raved about this novel. Me being me put off reading it for a while as I dislike band wagons – issue for another post, no doubt. π
Upon going through my Amazon wishlist of books to read, I finally decided to buy this and give it a read. I am very glad that I did. Having just finished reading _Outlander_, I now feel a similar voice to that, but it also has elements of the Latin American literature magic realism. Not knowing enough about Arab culture, I do not know if these elements are influences from these other kinds of pieces, or if Arabic literature and culture share it (or even influenced the other!). In any case, I did enjoy the read.
In the line of 1,001 Arabian nights with a common character of Scheherazade, the novel’s heroine – Fatima – tells her own stories before she passes on. By interweaving stories of the past with contrasts of the present we are shown the changes of life for an Arab-American family from Lebanon. There are themes of lost culture, lost appreciation for the past, lost in life, lost love and presence. In a way, it is a very very sad story.
Overall, I am glad I waited for the hype to die down before reading it as I think I enjoyed it more. It is well-written and engaging. Although a seemingly different kind of book for me to read, it does have common themes of others I had been reading. I guess my contemporary literature profile is growing! π
~T π
