When the publisher e-mailed me about The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar, the summary they provided indicated that there are several themes of interest to me. Prominent characters who are artists were an added inducement. So I accepted a free copy from the publisher via Net Galley and agreed to review it.
My research on Zeyn Joukhadar allowed me to establish that the story of the Syrian American trans male protagonist in The Thirty Names of Night is an Own Voices narrative. The previous novel that I read dealing with Syrian immigrant characters was The Beekeeper of Aleppo written by an author of Greek Cypriot origin. I discussed the appropriateness of her choice in my review here. Yet I feel more certain of the authenticity of this book.
I was very moved by the journey of the protagonist to find his identity. This seeking is echoed in the search of another trans male that he discovered in the notebook of a woman artist who was important to his mother.
At a more fundamental level, The Thirty Names of Night caused me to reflect on the nature of personal histories. It isn't just about one individual. It's the story of a family whether it be a genetic family or a chosen one, and the story of a community. All these lives overlap and gain significance from their connections. That's what I saw in this book.
I was delighted to see an acknowledgement of the Native peoples on whose land Zeyn Joukhadar wrote. I've never seen any other U.S. author do that.
In the end, The Thirty Names of Night is a unique paean to diversity--diversity of gender, diversity of culture and diversity of aspirations.
No comments:
Post a Comment