A review by reads2cope
The Parisian by Isabella Hammad

4.75

 “Here they all were, watching him return, gently, to this world. Ready to press him back into the shape of a person. Their impressions glanced off him like beams of light. There had been times in his life when he thought the need for them was illusory, this group of people, living in the same place, tied by their names and inherited stories. But if that was illusory, what was real? Without them, he was a body floating in the air — he stuck his foot out onto the cold tile, and struck a match to light Abu Jamil's cigar.” 

A masterpiece, just as Enter Ghost is, though wildly different. Each character has so much depth and goes through so much development, even when little happens plot-wise, there was always something that gripped me and kept me wanting more. This is another book I listened to that I hope to pick up a physical copy of someday. I especially want to analyze the parts where the story stops following Midhat and why each character get their closeup then. I loathed Jeanette, but loved the way the last third of the book handles Midhat's relfections on his time in France.

My other gripe with listening to the audiobook was the Arabic pronunciations were very strange, but otherwise it was a good narration.