Scan barcode
A review by rdhk
Refuge by Dina Nayeri
3.0
I really wanted to like the book. I generally love this author's writing style, and thoroughly enjoyed her previous work, A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea. This one, however, was mostly a miss for me; the three stars are more for Nayeri's lyrical prose than for the plot or character development.
THE BAD:
Refuge reads plainly as a work written by a White Person about the Other (in this case, formerly unprivileged Muslims). The book is full of basic tropes and Iranian stereotypes (the phrase "Iranian grandmother" was so overused it seemed almost ironic at one point). The attempt, if any, to demonstrate how *complex* it is for a human to be shoved into a completely alien environment where she is constantly under fear of scrutiny and exposure, was superficial at best. This is surprising, given the author's obvious talent and, more importantly, the fact that Niloo's life has so much in common with her own.
For me, the other (related) problem was how deeply unlikable the main characters were.
Spoiler alert:
I had some sympathy for Bahman (though it took me a while to understand that the only reason he didn't leave Iran to join his family abroad was because he was an addict), but his wives Fatimeh and Sanaz seemed like afterthoughts. The latter was especially intriguing as a side character, and I wish Nayeri had included her in more detail. I also started actively despising him when he hit her - for most of the book, we had been led to believe that he was an easy-going hedonist, not an aggressive pig. It didn't fit, and seemed like it was done purely for shock value.
Coming to Niloo - she was a despicable character. At some basic level - and being from a "Third World" country myself - I did understand her motivations at first, but she just spiraled too much and became a complete caricature of a mixed-religion refugee. Her interactions with the Iranian refugees in Amsterdam reeked so strongly of white saviour complex that I had to physically escape the book after reading those chapters. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I liked much of the romance with Gui, but again thought the bathtub scene where she leaves him (temporarily?) came out of nowhere and there was barely any buildup. Niloo also struck me as too selfish and self-righteous to sympathise with, and I really wanted to be rid of her by the end.
THE GOOD:
Gui's character was, I thought, the only well-developed character in the book, and I liked how Nayeri showed that his obvious privilege and failure to understand his (annoying) wife didn't mean he loved her any less. He always tried to do the right thing, but also had moments of irritation and desperation, which made him both human and likable.
Also enjoyed the snippets of poetry interwoven in the prose - it was magical.
Lastly, as I said before, Nayeri is a gifted writer, and I will definitely be buying her next book. I just hope she pays a little more attention to layering her characters. Much of the rawness and sweetness that characterised ATOEAS is missing here, but I'm hopeful to find it in her next venture :)
THE BAD:
Refuge reads plainly as a work written by a White Person about the Other (in this case, formerly unprivileged Muslims). The book is full of basic tropes and Iranian stereotypes (the phrase "Iranian grandmother" was so overused it seemed almost ironic at one point). The attempt, if any, to demonstrate how *complex* it is for a human to be shoved into a completely alien environment where she is constantly under fear of scrutiny and exposure, was superficial at best. This is surprising, given the author's obvious talent and, more importantly, the fact that Niloo's life has so much in common with her own.
For me, the other (related) problem was how deeply unlikable the main characters were.
Spoiler alert:
I had some sympathy for Bahman (though it took me a while to understand that the only reason he didn't leave Iran to join his family abroad was because he was an addict), but his wives Fatimeh and Sanaz seemed like afterthoughts. The latter was especially intriguing as a side character, and I wish Nayeri had included her in more detail. I also started actively despising him when he hit her - for most of the book, we had been led to believe that he was an easy-going hedonist, not an aggressive pig. It didn't fit, and seemed like it was done purely for shock value.
Coming to Niloo - she was a despicable character. At some basic level - and being from a "Third World" country myself - I did understand her motivations at first, but she just spiraled too much and became a complete caricature of a mixed-religion refugee. Her interactions with the Iranian refugees in Amsterdam reeked so strongly of white saviour complex that I had to physically escape the book after reading those chapters. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I liked much of the romance with Gui, but again thought the bathtub scene where she leaves him (temporarily?) came out of nowhere and there was barely any buildup. Niloo also struck me as too selfish and self-righteous to sympathise with, and I really wanted to be rid of her by the end.
THE GOOD:
Gui's character was, I thought, the only well-developed character in the book, and I liked how Nayeri showed that his obvious privilege and failure to understand his (annoying) wife didn't mean he loved her any less. He always tried to do the right thing, but also had moments of irritation and desperation, which made him both human and likable.
Also enjoyed the snippets of poetry interwoven in the prose - it was magical.
Lastly, as I said before, Nayeri is a gifted writer, and I will definitely be buying her next book. I just hope she pays a little more attention to layering her characters. Much of the rawness and sweetness that characterised ATOEAS is missing here, but I'm hopeful to find it in her next venture :)