An Unnecessary Woman

Questions About An Unnecessary Woman

by Rabih Alameddine

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Answered Questions (3)

Should this book have won the National Book Award?
Deborah Yes. The author's employment of Greek mythology into a story of a Lebanese woman, texturized by threads of philosophy, is a comforting yet troubling s…moreYes. The author's employment of Greek mythology into a story of a Lebanese woman, texturized by threads of philosophy, is a comforting yet troubling story. This story of a woman who realizes all too late in life the value of her life, is told beautifully. The vocabulary is complex, challenging...it had me exercising the pages of my Webster's dictionary. In short, I was challenged, I learned and I grew. Isn't that what National Book award winners are supposed to do for a reader? (less)
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Did Aaliyah's thoughts on Israel in her recap of Beruit's wars, pgs 193 - 196 in my copy, affect your feelings about the book? In particular: "Like many nation-states, including its sister pygmy state Lebanon, Israel is an abomination." She calls her own country an abomination, and noted that she respects many Jews (just not Israelis). I'm not Jewish but I paused at this, and saw it ruined the book for a reviewer.
Amy This is a good question. Infact, some of her remarks were quite positive about Jews but at times she compares Israel and Lebanon equally harshly. She …moreThis is a good question. Infact, some of her remarks were quite positive about Jews but at times she compares Israel and Lebanon equally harshly. She also had less positive remarks about other Arab countries and appeared to vacillate on Palestinians (who are kept in refugee camps in Lebanon for decades now) who were eventually some were expelled. The middle east situation is far more complex than the average westerner understands. She also decries the killings by lebaneses on Lebanese, Arab on Arab. I thought she made it clear Beruit's problems were caused by not only many other countries and religios abut the personality of Lebanon itself.(less)
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What did you make of the lieutenants's mother's last comment to Hanna on her deathbed. Page 242. "I promise that once all three of us are in Heaven, I will not be forced to make the impossible decision of choosing between the two of you"?
Toprak Deniz Odabaşı
This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)
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