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A review by rorikae
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
'The Thirty Names of Night' by Zeyn Joukhadar is an exquisite story about identity, birds, and belonging.
The story weaves between two narratives. The first follows a Syrian American trans boy struggling after the death of his mother. Longing to be his full self, he paints murals at night. One night he comes across the journal of a Syrian American artist who may have encountered the same rare bird as one that his mother saw as well. Haunted by the ghost of his mother, he searches for what happened to this artist who disappeared years ago. As he searches for what happened to her, we also get to experience her journals and the story of how she came to America and became a painter. As both stories progress they become more and more entangled.
Joukhadar's storytelling is beautiful. His prose is lush, conjuring up the worlds of both of his protagonists. We come to fall in love with the birds that Nadir and Laila experience as we also come to care deeply for each of the characters. They stand as one of the incredibly strong parts of this book. Flawed and deeply human, both are searching for where they belong, parallel stories across time.
As someone who loves birds and art, Joukhadar does a wonderful job of painting a picture with his words that makes the reader feel as if they are right beside the characters. This is truly a beautiful book and one that I think everyone should read. The audiobook is phenomenal and the two narrators do a great job of capturing the emotions behind both of the characters. I will definitely be checking out more of Joukhadar's work.
The story weaves between two narratives. The first follows a Syrian American trans boy struggling after the death of his mother. Longing to be his full self, he paints murals at night. One night he comes across the journal of a Syrian American artist who may have encountered the same rare bird as one that his mother saw as well. Haunted by the ghost of his mother, he searches for what happened to this artist who disappeared years ago. As he searches for what happened to her, we also get to experience her journals and the story of how she came to America and became a painter. As both stories progress they become more and more entangled.
Joukhadar's storytelling is beautiful. His prose is lush, conjuring up the worlds of both of his protagonists. We come to fall in love with the birds that Nadir and Laila experience as we also come to care deeply for each of the characters. They stand as one of the incredibly strong parts of this book. Flawed and deeply human, both are searching for where they belong, parallel stories across time.
As someone who loves birds and art, Joukhadar does a wonderful job of painting a picture with his words that makes the reader feel as if they are right beside the characters. This is truly a beautiful book and one that I think everyone should read. The audiobook is phenomenal and the two narrators do a great job of capturing the emotions behind both of the characters. I will definitely be checking out more of Joukhadar's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content