A review by margardenlady
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Aaliyah is our protagonist and we witness much of her life, told in fits and starts with inserting of many, many quotes and references to classical authors and their works. Alameddine is a truly well read scholar and a talented writer. He weaves characters and quotations and titles and writers in and out of Aaliyah's story.  I feel like I only caught a small percentage of the references, but what I did catch enhanced his prose.