The Maris Review, vol 66

The Maris Review, vol 66
New releases, 8/5

What I read this week

The Parisian by Isabella Hammad

My god, this novel. Given that two of my favorite books from the past few years have been written by Isabella Hammad, it was past time for me to read her debut, an epic story about a Palestinian man in the tradition of so many of the best novels of the 19th century. I'm talking Flaubert, Tolstoy, Eliot. But there's a difference for me, as a reader. In school we had studied the history of France and the UK (maybe not Russia as much), so I had a sense of narrative timing that I did not have when reading The Parisian, which is set at the end of the Ottoman Empire while the British and French are sniffing around the Middle East. Imagine reading Dickens but never having learned about the Victorian Era at all.

It's strange to read a work of fiction and realize how many facts you didn't know, that you were never taught, that you never sought out. I found myself googling a lot while reading, which I guess is no surprise given that most of my education about the Middle East, both secular and religious, focused on how Israel rightfully belonged to the Jews, and the rest of the area is complicated.

But as much as I needed to catch myself up on Middle Eastern politics, it was more than easy to get caught up in the story of Midhat Kamal. The son of a wealthy clothing merchant, Midhat gets the chance to study medicine in France rather than fight in WWI. We watch as Midhat becomes an intellectual and a dandy in France, with a beautiful wardrobe and freedoms that might be unimaginable to his grade school friends. He even gets to fall in love. And yet, even with so much privilege, he doesn't quite fit in. It becomes more and more apparent that he is an object of curiosity for his white companions, something to be studied, forever an Other. "Do you think I have no insides," he shouts at one such Frenchman who was planning to write a monograph about Midhat. And here he had thought that the French were so classy.

After four years in France Midhat returns to his extended family in Nablus, where the majority of the book is set. He agrees to take over the clothing business and to marry. He longs to return to his love in Montpellier, but he chooses to be a dutiful son. A wide cast of characters expands around Midhat and it's a joy to spend time with each one, many of whom refer to Midhat as "The Parisian" in a way that seems playful at first but often contains some bitterness. Midhat's haughtiness does not sit well with everyone. Still, as he says on one of the final pages of The Parisian, "When I look at my life I see a whole list of mistakes. Lovely, beautiful mistakes." The novel ends during the Arab general strike in Mandatory Palestine in 1936, months before the British declare martial law (I wrote the previous sentence with a lot of help from the list of key events in the development of the Palestinian and Syrian national movements that appears in the back of the book). It kind of hurt to close the book and know how much history would be coming so furiously. I'm so glad I took the time to read it and to fill in a few of my blind spots.

Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza

And now for some fun. Before I go on I should say that Jo is a member of my writing group. That said, all she ever showed us was the first 40 pages of the novel, and before I could blink she'd written the whole fucking thing. No feedback required! So here is my feedback now: yes, yes, yes!

Please note I have little curiosity about momfluencers and trad wives, which is my privilege as a woman who has chosen not to have children. But I follow Jo on Instagram, and through her fascination some of the culture, retrograde and trendy, has seeped through. Jo is the perfect guide for us beginners, and it helps that even if she plays with some stereotypes, she creates two main characters who feel like authentic humans. And then she puts these two characters, Lizzie and Bex, former college pals who've taken entirely different life paths, into a murder mystery set at an influencer conference called MomBomb. Jo is so good at creating this zany, specific world, and then throwing some other bombs on top of it.

Book Tour Thoughts

I took a creep shot at the crowd at Left Bank Cider in Catskill (the cider did not fuck up my blood sugar!), before my talk with wonderful Jonny Diamond for the Northern Spy Reading Series. I got to see so many friends!

I love all of my internet friends and I feel like I've cultivated a fairly rich social life online, particularly in the literary realm. But I was reminded on book tour that connecting with people in real life hits different. I know, what a revelation!

Putting out a book involves so many different people, but so much of shilling your book online can feel lonely. I know that strangers on social media can say whatever they want, and I know that whatever they say is none of my business. But putting on blinders to criticism means missing out on praise, too. So it made me feel truly satisfied to go to a bunch of great indie bookstores and other venues and be reminded that there are lots of people out there who are reading generously and rooting for me. I made so many new friends.

I know how quickly books can come and go and be replaced by a whole new crop of them (see below), so I feel so much gratitude to have been able to savor some of that good will, at least for a few moments.

New releases, 8/5

Flashout by Alexis Soloski

The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why by Madeleine Beekman

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis

Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin

This Here Is Love by Princess Joy L. Perry

Moderation by Elaine Castillo

Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen of the Gilded Age, Partied Her Way to Power by Jennifer Wright

A Dog in Georgia by Lauren Grodstein

King of Kings The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculationby Scott Anderson

Indian Country by Shobha Rao