About the author:
Isabella Hammad is a British author of Palestinian descent. She was born in London, England, and lives in Brooklyn New York. Hammad is the recipient of Plimpton Prize and O. Henry Prize. She studied at Oxford University and Harvard University. The Parisian is her first novel.
About the book:
Publishers Weekly – In her exceptional debut, The Parisian, Hammad taps into the satisfying slow-burn style of classic literature with a storyline that captures both the heart and the mind.
In 1914, 19-year-old Midhat Kamal leaves his hometown of Nablus in Palestine and heads to Marseilles to study medicine. In Marseilles, he stays with university professor Dr. Frederic Molineu and his daughter, Jeannette.
Against a political landscape of the Middle East, The Parisian explores questions of power and identity, enduring love, and the uncanny ability of the past to disrupt the present.
Jeannette has just completed her own schooling in philosophy. Jeannette interactions with Midhat are initially based on distant friendliness, however, romantic notions begin to stir inside them both. Nevertheless, Midhat relocates to Paris after one year, changes his academic major to history, and evolves into an image like “the figure of the Parisian Oriental as he appeared on certain cigarette packets in corner stores.”
After he returns home to Nablus, Midhat’s life is directed by his wealthy father, who plans for his eldest son to marry a local woman and work in the family business. Midhat remains separated from Jeannette, his first love, as national and geopolitical machinations continue to grind. By 1936, Midhat has witnessed a number of historical regional changes, including British rule and the Arab fight for independence.
Richly textured prose drives The Parisian spellbinding themes of the ebb and flow of cultural connections and people who struggle with love, familial responsibilities, and personal identity.
Amazon.com – A masterful debut novel by Plimpton Prize winner Isabella Hammad, The Parisian illuminates a pivotal period of Palestinian history through the journey and romances of one young man, from his studies in France during World War I to his return to Palestine at the dawn of its battle for independence.
The story of Midhat’s life develops alongside the idea of a nation, as he and those close to him confront what it means to strive for independence in a world that seems on the verge of falling apart.
Against a landscape of political change that continues to define the Middle East, The Parisian explores questions of power and identity, enduring love, and the uncanny ability of the past to disrupt the present.
Lush and immersive, and devastating in its power, The Parisian is an elegant, richly imagined debut from a dazzling new voice in fiction.
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