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A review by akallabeth
I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters by Rabih Alameddine
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
i'm pretty delighted by this novel's construction.
we are following sarah nour el-din, a lebanese-american woman, as she tries to write her memoirs. there's plenty to write about - her complicated family, growing up against the backdrop of the lebanese civil war, her messy love life - but sarah struggles to put it on paper. i, the divine is entirely composed of the first chapters sarah writes and then discards. over the course of the story, she attempts many different approaches, titles, styles, and even languages.
there's certainly a risk for something like this to come off gimmicky, but i thought the story was very cleverly constructed, and the 'shtick' was used to its full potential to slowly reveal new facets of both sarah herself and her family. i ended the novel very fond of them, which i can't say was strictly the case at the start.
i definitely had my issues with it (sarah's inner monologues have several incongruous moments of 'oh a man wrote this, right', i thought the very last chapter was kind of weak compared to the rest of it - to name a few) but overall i found it an enjoyable read, and it kept my attention.
(i will say that some of the blurbs/quotes from other authors/etc make this seem a little lighter than it in truth is; there's definitely funny moments and the overall tone is hopeful, but it's a pretty melancholy work, and deals with some heavy themes. 'civil war' and 'tense family situation' covers most bases, but i will specifically mention one thing, tw-wise:there is a very graphic rape scene that goes on for several pages. i don't think it's fetishistically written or anything, but i'm also not convinced it was necessary to include.</spoiler)
we are following sarah nour el-din, a lebanese-american woman, as she tries to write her memoirs. there's plenty to write about - her complicated family, growing up against the backdrop of the lebanese civil war, her messy love life - but sarah struggles to put it on paper. i, the divine is entirely composed of the first chapters sarah writes and then discards. over the course of the story, she attempts many different approaches, titles, styles, and even languages.
there's certainly a risk for something like this to come off gimmicky, but i thought the story was very cleverly constructed, and the 'shtick' was used to its full potential to slowly reveal new facets of both sarah herself and her family. i ended the novel very fond of them, which i can't say was strictly the case at the start.
i definitely had my issues with it (sarah's inner monologues have several incongruous moments of 'oh a man wrote this, right', i thought the very last chapter was kind of weak compared to the rest of it - to name a few) but overall i found it an enjoyable read, and it kept my attention.
(i will say that some of the blurbs/quotes from other authors/etc make this seem a little lighter than it in truth is; there's definitely funny moments and the overall tone is hopeful, but it's a pretty melancholy work, and deals with some heavy themes. 'civil war' and 'tense family situation' covers most bases, but i will specifically mention one thing, tw-wise:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape