Reviews

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

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ladyunicornofchonk's review against another edition

5.0

This book is gut-wrenchingly beautiful. Themes of grief, mourning, racism, homophobia/transphobia run concurrent with these literary images of beautiful seas, personal intimacy, iridescent bird wings, unshakeable community, and unimaginable love. I wept at the end of the book for so many reasons. Having suffered loss like the main character has, I related to them instantly, in that regard…I know that pain tangibly. But the journey you go on in this book can be a hard read, especially in the world in which we find ourselves currently. It took me 3 months to finish this, which, being chronically ill, happens sometimes but the content is also heavy and I found it hard at times to return to this book in particular when I had easier reads available. But in the end, it was worth every single letter. What a treasure. Thank you Zeyn for the 4 years your spent on this masterpiece!

pearamour's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

At first, i was describing this book to my friends as magical. Having finished this book, i would now describe it as being full of the sacred. Sacred journeys to self and belonging, sacred histories, the sacredness of relationships and community. Absolutely stunning book. Listened to it as an audiobook and i think i will read it again as a physical book.