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The Night Counter (2009)

by Alia Yunis(Favorite Author)

3.64 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0307453626 (ISBN13: 9780307453624)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Crown

review 1: Meh. This book was a bit tedious to read. The beginning failed to grab my interest and I really didn't care about the characters, even though there were SO many! The plot bored me as did the flat characters, especially Decimal! Smart girls do not talk or write like that "and stuff!" I also thought Amir was stereotypical and stupid, and Fatima was thoroughly un-likeable. It's unfortunate because the book contains an interesting idea: Scheherazade's ghost follows a woman, listens to her stories, observes the life stories of the woman's children and helps the woman to realize the importance of family. Unfortunately the book goes about executing this idea in all the wrong ways and with really annoying characters. Good idea, but poor execution.
review 2: I NEED to r... moreead 1001 Nights! I loved the weaving of this multi-generational Arab immigrant story. The characters are layered with their personal stories and their cultural histories. The personal story is funny & entertaining, but manages to incorporate some of the impact of post 9/11 US craziness about Arabs. Yunis' humor reminds me of Jewish humor, a kind of funny familiar to people who have left behind much and moved on to large unknown territories that become Home Sweet Home to generations of offspring. In the novels I like best, I am able to learn about people and places as well as enjoy the writing & the plots. As a daughter of a Holocaust survivor and a French Canadian, part Native American new England Catholic, I resonated with this Lebanese-Arab- Muslim variation on "Lost People Who Find Lives Anyways", I got some perspective on kinds of people I don't know very well, and I loved her writing. A good, fun read. less

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