An unnecessary woman book

Aaliya is a formidable character an unnecessary woman is a book lovers book. Reading an unnecessary woman is about listening to a voice aaliyas not cantering through a plot, although powerful events do occur, both in the present and in memorya fun, and often funny, bookrich in quirky metaphors an unnecessary woman is not a game, though. Mar 20, 2014 yet, in its way, an unnecessary woman is just as epic as its predecessor. Winner of the california book award finalist for the national book critics circle award finalist for the national book award beautiful and absorbing.

Aaliya sobhi is an elderly divorced woman living alone in an apartment in beirut. A novel and millions of other books are available for instant access. An unnecessary woman, a piercing study of detachment and. Every year, she translates a new favorite book into arabic, then stows it away.

Her tastes run toward the intellectual titans of 20thcentury international literature, including w. Rabih alameddines novel, both clever and pretentious, is set in a maddeningly americanised sitcom version of the middle east. National book foundation books an unnecessary woman. An unnecessary woman is a 2014 novel by lebanese american writer rabih alameddine that was nominated for the national book award for fiction. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. In lesser hands, the farranging dissertations might have seemed like authorial preening, but with alameddine, in part because of aaliyahs rich voice and in part because of the sheer brilliance of her words, the reader is charmed into complete acceptance.

Everything that happens to her provokes a literary reminiscence. Finalist for the national book award beautiful and absorbing. Finalist for the national book award washington post top 50 fiction books of 2014. An unnecessary woman is a painful reminder that life is too short to read all the fascinating literary works from around the world. Grief, hope and humor all combine in this story told by 72yearold aaliya saleh in the novel an unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine. A woman who offered pursed whimpers amid teeth that reeked soupy yellow.

An unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine paperback. Finalist of the 2014 national book awardi can t remember the last time i was so gripped simply by a novels. Aaliya sohbi lives alone in her beirut apartment, surrounded by stockpiles of books. Godless, fatherless, childless, and divorced, aaliya is her familys unnecessary appendage. Here are all the books mentioned in rabih alameddines an unnecessary woman. An unnecessary woman hardcover changing hands bookstore. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Jan 28, 2015 simultaneously a philosophical rumination, a literature class and a cry from the heart, an unnecessary woman is, precisely in its strangeness, a genuine literary pleasure. If youve ever felt not at home in the worldor in your own skinor preferred the company of a good book to that of an actual person, this book will welcome you with open arms and tell you that youre not alone. Aaliyas insightful musings on literature, philosophy, and art are invaded by memories of the lebanese civil war.

Reading an unnecessary woman is about listening to a voiceaaliyasnot cantering through a plot, although powerful events do occur, both in the present and in memory. The list includes all the books mentioned by name only and therefore not the books from which character names or quotes are from, nor the countless other literary references throughout the novel. An unnecessary woman is an utterly unique love poem to the book and to the tenacity of the feminine spirit. John wilkerson had the almost perfect wife and the almost perfec. An unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine, paperback. An unnecessary woman book washington county cooperative. An unnecessary woman is the fourth novel by jordanianborn lebanese author, rabih alameddine. Alameddines presence in an unnecessary woman is transparently and unashamedly paired with the voice of aaliyah, a metafictional note. It is also the first book i have read by a lebanese author unless you count kahlil gibran, but since he wrote in english, i dont think i will. Unnecessary woman lives on the margins, enveloped in books february 2, 2014 in his new novel, rabih alameddine questions what the value is of an inwardly focused life. Alameddines erudite narrator, aaliya saleh, enfolds her personal story within the 20thcentury history of her. Read it once, read it twice, read other books for a decade or so.

An unnecessary woman hardcover the elliott bay book company. An unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine librarything. And its a triumph for alameddine, who has created a book worthy of sitting on a shelf next to the great works whose beauty and power his novel celebrates. An unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine, paperback barnes.

Text publishing an unnecessary woman, book by rabih. An unnecessary woman hardcover the elliott bay book. In this snapshot of the introverted but well read woman living in beirut, the capitol city of lebanon, aaliya shares with her reader her love for her home city as well as her fear of growing older. Its a portrait of an isolated woman with a dazzling mind as she comes to grips with getting old. Home an unnecessary woman discussion guide libguides.

About a woman in the twilight of her life, a product of rusted times. When an unnecessary woman offers her what she regards as the corniest of conceits a redemption arc its a delight to see her take it. An unnecessary woman audiobook by rabih alameddine. For fifty years, she has translated novels into arabic, usually starting a. An unnecessary woman, nominated for the national book award. One morning in december, aaliyah sobhi, a 72yearold resident of beirut, misreads the label on a shampoo bottle and dyes her hair bright. Oct 19, 2015 an unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine in doc, epub, rtf download e book.

An unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine goodreads. Yvonne zipp, the christian science monitor an unnecessary woman is a book lovers book. If youve ever felt not at home in the worldor in your own skinor preferred the company of a good book to that of an actual person. One of the middle easts most celebrated voices, rabih alameddine follows his international best seller, the hakawati, with an enchanting story of a bookloving, obsessive, 72yearold unnecessary woman. An unnecessary woman winner of the california book award finalist for the national book critics circle award finalist for the national book award beautiful and absorbing. An unnecessary woman rabih alameddine, 2014 groveatlantic 320 pp. An unnecessary woman by rabih alameddine my rating. A novel arrested my interest from the very beginning and held it right to the end. An unnecessary woman is a story of innumerable things. A finalist for the national book critics circle award and the national book award, an unnecessary woman is a fun, and often funny. Sebald, roberto bolano, joseph roth, vladimir nabokov and fernando pessoa. I like this book because i usually appreciate books that introduce me to other books. Aaliya is an aging woman who for decades has begun the year translating one of her favorite books into arabic.

One of beiruts most celebrated voices, rabih alameddine fo. Home an unnecessary woman discussion guide libguides at. If youve ever felt not at home in the worldor in your own skinor preferred the company of a good book to that of. When the last page is turned, both heart and mind will be richer for it. Playful, brainy and full of zest, an unnecessary woman is an antidote to literary blandness. Rather it is a work whose every page is to be savored, to be read and read again. It is a tale of blue hair and the war of attrition that comes with age, of loneliness and grief, most of all of resilience, of the courage it.

An unnecessary woman is the latest novel from lebaneseamerican writer rabih alameddine. The book the title is a reference to polish artist and writer. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read an unnecessary woman. Aaliya, the unnecessary woman of the title, narrates her story in the winter of her 72nd year, as she contemplates which book she should.

An unnecessary woman is a kind of commonplace book, stuffed with citations from aaliyas favorite novels and poems. An enchanting story of a bookloving, obsessive, seventytwoyearold unnecessary woman with a past shaped by the lebanese civil war. Yet, in its way, an unnecessary woman is just as epic as its predecessor. The thirtyseven books that aaliya has translated over her lifetime have never been. Set in beirut, lebanon, it painted a historical canvas of its turbulent years as seen through the eyes of an unlikely heroine, aaliya sohbi, a 72yearold. The usual mood that prevails while reading an unnecessary woman is something that can be observed during the time of a candid conversation with a fellow book lover who not only share your passion for books but also have similar reading preferences for most of the part. An unnecessary woman book the seattle public library.

Her passion for translation is the prime source of the novels claim on its readers sympathies. Its a portrait of an isolated woman with a dazzling. An unnecessary woman not much happens in an unnecessary woman, lebaneseamerican author rabih alameddines novel about an elderly recluse who spends her time reading and translating. An unnecessary woman finalist, national book awards 2014 for fiction. The book can be categorized as a work of metanovel.