A review by greenej
The Parisian, by Isabella Hammad

4.0

Someone said this book is "Middlemarch" set in the the Middle East. Well, that's not quite it; this book does not have the insights into character and relationships that characterizes Middlemarch. Yet it is a wonderful, engaging read. It's a story that keeps you wanting to know more, and it is very beautifully written. It is a classic novel of the colonial experience--really a postcolonial study in many ways. I learned a lot from it. At times it drags to be sure, and the last 100 pages were for me a disappointment. But Hammad is a rare talent and the book very much rewards a careful reading.