false 6067314 1 After 85 long years, Fatimah Abdullah is dying, and she knows when her time will come. In fact, it should come just nine days from tonight, the 992nd nightly visit of Scheherazade, the beautiful and immortal storyteller from the epic <i>The Arabian Nights</i>.<br><br>Just as Scheherazade spun magical stories for 1,001 nights to save her own life, Fatima has spent each night telling Scheherazade her life stories, all the while knowing that on the 1,001st night, her storytelling will end forever. But between tonight and night 1,001, Fatima has a few loose ends to tie up. She must find a wife for her openly gay grandson, teach Arabic (and birth control) to her 17-year-old great-granddaughter, make amends with her estranged husband, and decide which of her troublesome children should inherit her family's home in Lebanon--a house she herself has not seen in nearly 70 years. All this while under the surveillance of two bumbling FBI agents eager to uncover Al Qaeda in Los Angeles.<br><br>But Fatima’s children are wrapped up in their own chaotic lives and disinterested in their mother or their inheritances. As Fatima weaves the stories of her husband, children, and grandchildren, we meet a visionless psychic, a conflicted U.S. soldier, a gynecologist who has a daughter with a love of shoplifting and a tendency to get unexpectedly pregnant, a Harvard-educated alcoholic cab driver edging towards his fifth marriage, a lovelorn matchmaker, and a Texas homecoming queen. Taken in parts, Fatima’s relations are capricious and steadfast, affectionate and smothering, connected yet terribly alone. Taken all together, they present a striking and surprising tapestry of modern Arab American life.<br><br>Shifting between the U.S. and Lebanon over the last hundred years, Alia Yunis crafts a bewitching novel imbued with great humanity, imagination, and a touch of magic realism. Be prepared to be utterly charmed. 6243661 14 7 2009 The Night Counter: A Novel total:34|5:8|4:14|3:11|2:1|1:0| 34 131 127 14 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jun 05 04:26:18 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 04:32:01 -0700 2009
This book is so much fun to read and entertaining on so many levels, the Night Counter is a wonderful blend of fantasy and family that is worthy of Scheherazade herself. In a twis...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Sep 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 14:55:01 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 15:04:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 18:38:54 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 20:09:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 16:24:09 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 16:27:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 19 11:19:33 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 11:11:58 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 11:19:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Sep 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 21:20:34 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 21:24:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 12:38:41 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 12:48:11 -0700 2009 While the main character is well-developed and interesting, I would have liked if some of the minor characters were more involved in the overall story.
Also, I really enjoyed how Yunis brought a classic ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 08:19:13 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 18:51:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Sep 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 10:07:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 05:16:13 -0700 2009 ]]> 0 0 false false Thu Sep 03 13:20:40 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 13:20:57 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 15:00:13 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 15:03:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jun 06 05:20:26 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 15 06:07:05 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Aug 14 05:55:10 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 05 14:00:33 -0800 2009
The book is getting pretty interesting - almost done!]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 07:58:09 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 08:22:06 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Nov 20 12:54:31 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 12:54:31 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 19 06:04:49 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 06:04:49 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 16:16:07 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 15:18:31 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 02 07:15:18 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 07:15:18 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Oct 27 17:53:46 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 18:11:15 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Oct 19 18:35:25 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 18:35:25 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6067314