A review by carolinefaireymeese
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

challenging emotional tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm always thrilled to read the work of female authors from lesser-represented languages from around the world, but the true gem of this multi-generational narrative was the structure. Alharthi moves loosely between third person perspectives, tightly focusing on emotional states of individuals while moving deftly through time and memory--this served to convey all the joyous and painful complications of a homeland steeped in tradition and rapidly changing. All Alharthi's women are in a close third person, while Abdallah (Mayya's husband) returns every other chapter in first person, usually from a plane. I loved this "patriarchal in name only" structure--again, it conveyed an expectation, but subverted it through both having Abdallah ruminate on his masculinity and insecurities, especially about his own fraught relationship with his father, and by crossing so closely into the womens' minds that we almost feel we are in first person (but if we were, we would not be able to observe them as those around them do!) 

Really looking forward to more from Alharthi as I continue seeking out experimental narratives from across the globe.
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