"The generations are not better or worse than each other... It doesn't take a prophet to predict that people will be blinded again, and more than once"The generations are not better or worse than each other... It doesn't take a prophet to predict that people will be blinded again, and more than once, by false teachings, will yield to the temptation of endowing certain individuals with superhuman qualities and glorify them, raise them up on a pedestal and then cast them back down. Later generations will say they are fools, and yet they will be exactly the same."
"...most of us believe we are who we are because of the decisions we've made, because of the events that shapes us, because of the choices of those ar"...most of us believe we are who we are because of the decisions we've made, because of the events that shapes us, because of the choices of those around us. We rarely consider that we're also formed by the decisions we didn't make, by events that could have happened but we didn't, or by our lack of choices, for that matter." . ~From AN UNECESSARY WOMAN by Rabih Alameddine, 2013.
An intimate look a life shaped by war, and by books - this novel holds the introspections, observations, and brief history of Aaliya, a 72-year old Lebanese woman.
The book is a running soliloquy of this fascinating "unnecessary" woman (deemed so by society, in her husband-less and child-less existence), meandering stories of her childhood, her love of the Arabic language, her trials in the Lebanese Civil War, her decades of work in a #Beirut bookshop, her translations of world classics into Arabic just "because"... and so much more.
A deep charater study with a singular and beautiful voice... So many of Aaliya's statements and beliefs about literature and life mirror my own thoughts and feelings, making this a personally reflective read as well.
Aaliya (well, Alameddine through his creation of this character) drops author's names and literary works like very few others - Roberto Bolaño maybe the only other writer I've encountered who does it as much! - and coincidentally she is translating his 2666 opus in the beginning of this book.
So, if you are so inclined, best to read this one with a notepad nearby to jot down the names and titles Aaliya mentions. I added at least 8 books to my TBR from this one, and realized I need to read some that she praises that still langiush on my shelves (Marguerite Yourcenar, I see you there!)...more
Unrelentless in its sadness and tragedy, I had to think of the take-aways from this book: - This story shows an unseen world. - Describes events that prUnrelentless in its sadness and tragedy, I had to think of the take-aways from this book: - This story shows an unseen world. - Describes events that provide context for later events. - It showed the depth and devotion of friendship.
• A LITTLE LUMPEN NOVELITA by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer
Great to get back to Bolaño, it has been too long. Atmospheric short book ab• A LITTLE LUMPEN NOVELITA by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer
Great to get back to Bolaño, it has been too long. Atmospheric short book about a recently orphaned brother and sister living in Rome who dip into a "life of crime". Noir with the lyricism Bolaño is known for.
I was intrigued by the use of "lumpen" in the title (both in original Spanish and English), meaning "dull or boring", but also has a specific link to Marxist philosophy in "lumpenproletariat", as an underclass devoid of class consciousness ...more
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