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The Thirty Names of Night

Zeyn Joukhadar (Goodreads Author)

3.94 · Rating details · 754 ratings · 203 reviews

Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighborhood masjid, his estrang Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighborhood masjid, his estranged sister, and even his best friend (who also happens to be his longtime crush). The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria.

One night, he enters the abandoned community house and finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America. She famously and mysteriously disappeared more than sixty years before, but her journal contains proof that both his mother and Laila Z encountered the same rare bird before their deaths. In fact, Laila Z’s past is intimately tied to his mother’s—and his grandmother’s—in ways he never could have expected. Even more surprising, Laila Z’s story reveals the histories of queer and transgender people within his own community that he never knew. Realizing that he isn’t and has never been alone, he has the courage to officially claim a new name: Nadir, an Arabic name meaning rare.

As unprecedented numbers of birds are mysteriously drawn to the New York City skies, Nadir enlists the help of his family and friends to unravel what happened to Laila Z and the rare bird his mother died trying to save. Following his mother’s ghost, he uncovers the silences kept in the name of survival by his own community, his own family, and within himself, and discovers the family that was there all along.

Featuring Zeyn Joukhadar’s signature “magical and heart-wrenching” (The Christian Science Monitor) storytelling, The Thirty Names of Night is a timely exploration of how we all search for and ultimately embrace who we are. ...more

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Hardcover, 304 pages

Published November 24th 2020 by Atria Books

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Average rating 3.94 ·

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· 754 ratings · 203 reviews

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May 24, 2020 Will Byrnes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arab, brooklyn, nyc, new-york-city, historical-fiction, gay-and-lesbian, lgbtq, literary-fiction, immigration, fiction

“What did they see, Mama?” I murmured to her. “What was it that came to meet the birds that flew into the west? ”
…My mother turned her face to me over her shoulder. “What came,” she said, “was night, and all its names.”

---------------------------------------

…not all migrations end with a return home. Every memory begins to cut if you hold onto it too tight.

Reading Zeyn Joukhadar’s The Thirty Names of Night is like walking through an incredibly rich and diverse aviary. Our attention is dr ...more

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Sep 03, 2020 Karen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books.

There was a LOT going on here.. too much, actually.
I found myself skimming through much of it.
It’s a story of immigrants, a transgender trying to belong, ghosts, the history of the “little Syria” area of New York, art, and birds... yes, lots of birds 🤦‍♀️
It started out good with the story of a young Syrian who lost her mother in a fire five yrs prior.. lives in New York with her grandmother and is taking care of her. This young girl does not feel comfortabl ...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader rated it it was amazing

Shelves: hard-soft-copy

What a remarkable, stunning, memorable, huggable story. I read The Map of Salt and Stars by this author two years ago and could not imagine writing more lyrical and descriptive. I loved every minute with that book, but wow. In The Thirty Names of Night, Zeyn Joukhadar has penned a masterpiece. Where The Map of Salt and Stars has symbolism with salt, Thirty Names has the symbolism and imagery of birds. I could go on and on about the stunning ways birds were integrated into the story.

The character ...more

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Oct 24, 2020 Liz rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

3.5 stars, rounded up
It’s hard to describe this book. As others have said, there’s a lot going on here. A closeted trans Syrian American boy in America discovers the journal of a Syrian American artist and discovers a link with his dead mother.
This is a lush, beautifully written book. We hear from two different narrators. The trans young man, whose chapters initially have the name crossed out, is haunted by his dead mother. His mother, who was an ornithologist, was trying to find a bird others ...more

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Aug 19, 2020 Cheri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, lgbtq, literary-fiction, syria, nyc, arc, 2020, detroit, artists, immigration

This story begins exactly five years after the loss of the narrator’s mother, and on this night New York City will see forty-eight sparrows fall from the sky. The narrator sits on the roof of Teta’s, his grandmother, apartment building, observing the sky as birds drop, individually, one at a time. Thinking of his mother, how everything since then has changed, how even their grieving has changed, and how it has changed them. The remnants of her life that she left behind have become so precious, h
This story begins exactly five years after the loss of the narrator’s mother, and on this night New York City will see forty-eight sparrows fall from the sky. The narrator sits on the roof of Teta’s, his grandmother, apartment building, observing the sky as birds drop, individually, one at a time. Thinking of his mother, how everything since then has changed, how even their grieving has changed, and how it has changed them. The remnants of her life that she left behind have become so precious, he hides the things she left behind, the tokens that were so prized by her have become their only tangible means of remembering, and of grieving.

The narrator goes unnamed for a while, a young transgender boy who eventually chooses his new name as Nadir, an Arabic name meaning rare. And while this is, essentially, a story about him and his journey as an artist as well as the journey to becoming himself, it is also the story of the struggles of all transgender people who wish to be accepted, as well as all immigrants who also see themselves as excluded from being among those self-designated as “we the people.” Particularly, in this story, Syrian immigrants, their struggles, and those of their descendants.

There is a haunting quality to this story, both through the lyrical, poetic quality of the writing and the story itself, the ongoing dialogue to the narrator’s mother, the discoveries that are revealed as this story is unveiled, and the search for more understanding of who his mother was beyond being only his mother also leads him to a discovery of a diary kept by his mother’s favourite artist, a woman who was known for her illustrations of birds. When he discovers the artist’s journal in an old tenement building, he discovers so much more than he anticipated.

This is such a thought-provoking story, connecting so many aspects of life, of living a life that feels honest to how we see ourselves – who we are, of these invisible connections we come across unexpectedly to others, to our culture and family histories, the connections that we create that allow us to more fully embrace ourselves, our lives. Life.

An aura of a poetic, inspired folktale permeates these pages, the prose creates such a moving atmosphere that really never seems to fade, but instead intensifies as this story unfolds.

A dazzlingly enchanted story about living your truth, and discovering the beauty that can be found.

Published: 24 Nov 2020

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Atria Books ...more

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Dec 08, 2020 Jenny Lawson rated it really liked it

So beautifully written. It felt like part dark fairy tale mixed with absolute truths. I loved it so much that I chose it for December's Fantastic Strangeling Book Club. ...more

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Aug 08, 2020 Martie Nees Record rated it liked it

Genre: LGBTQ/Historical Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub. Date: November 3, 2020

There is so much going on in this beautifully written novel. You will meet artists and three generations of Syrian American women. You will learn about French-occupied Syria during the early twentieth century, as well as a long-forgotten NYC neighborhood called Little Syria. You will also read about birds and ghosts. The author mixes up the genres. There is historical fiction, literary fiction, magical realism, comin ...more

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Oct 31, 2020 DeAnn rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020

3.5 avian stars

I picked this one up because I really enjoyed the author’s first book “The Map of Salt and Tears.” This book has the same lyrical quality but otherwise is difficult to describe. I did enjoy learning more about Syrian Americans.

This book is set in New York and features a trans boy who is uncomfortable in his body and identity. His mother died five years before and he still sees her ghost everywhere. There are so many birds in this book! I’m not sure if they were all real birds or i ...more

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Apr 08, 2020 Sarah-Hope rated it it was amazing

Shelves: essentials, 2020, edelweissplus

The Thirty Names of Nights is one of those books that leaves you in tears (the good kind) and makes you keep saying to those around you (if they're the patient type) "thank G-d THIS writer was born to write THIS book NOW." It's peopled with the kind of complex, diverse individuals that show up far too rarely in contemporary fiction. The cast is multi-generational, mostly Syrian-American, living in post-9/11 New York City when immigrant hopes of being embraced as part of society-at-large have bee ...more

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Nov 17, 2020 Bam cooks the books ;-) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-netgalley, lgbt, 2020-reads, magical-realism

'I have been waiting all my life to be seen.'

This is the story of three generations of Arab-Americans told through two timelines and through the experiences of a young trans man and a talented artist named Laila. Their two stories are intertwined in the novel, joined by their love for art and ornithology. The book is beautifully written with fascinating, heart-breaking characters. Joukhadar writes about the Arab-American experience but also about finding one's personal identity. 'I am a fool. I ...more

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Nov 27, 2020 Sheena rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fiction, netgalley

The Thirty Names of The Night started off so well until after a few chapters I realized I was skimming. The writing was beautiful but it was too descriptive so I quickly lost interest. There’s too much going on with going back from present day to the past. It wasn’t a bad book but just not for me, the descriptions became lost and convoluted. There is a LOT of talking about birds, almost the whole book. I don’t find anything interesting about bird watching or drawing birds or birds in general. I ...more

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Oct 07, 2020 Casey the Reader rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, lgbtq

Thanks to Atria Books for the free advance copy of this book.

📚 Beautiful writing, particularly the descriptions of birds and the paintings of them.
📚 This is an #ownvoices book, and the portrayal of a trans boy who isn't out yet feels so real - the delicacy of the situation is tangible.
📚 The way the two storylines interweaved was masterful, and I was in tears at the end.
📚 I don't think I've ever read a story about a queer Syrian American and I'm so glad this book exists now.
📚 I just cannot find ...more

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Nov 19, 2020 Marzie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-net-galley

Trying to summarize this novel would be futile because any attempt wouldn't capture the lyrical nature of Joukhadar's writing, or his seemingly effortless ability, as in his first novel, A Map of Salt and Stars to find connections or mirrors between past and present, but I'll give it a shot.

With The Thirty Names of Night Zeyn Joukhadar confirms his standing as a powerful Arab American writer. In a layered and luminous novel, Joukhadar gives voice to multiple generations living the Arab immig ...more

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May 06, 2020 Mel (Epic Reading) marked it as up-next-arcs

Shelves: arc-netgalley

I loved Map of Salt and Stars. Really excited for this one! And I was fortunate enough to get an eARC.

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Dec 29, 2020 elif rated it it was amazing

Shelves: essentials

This is the first book in genuine years where I didn't look at the percentage number and mapped the story template onto the story itself. All I did was read this by morning and by night like a story passed down from generations to generations. So gorgeous. So stunning. Just... it's a perfect book by all accounts. ...more

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Jun 07, 2020 Lilisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, fiction, u-s, netgalley, lgbtq, around-the-world-2020-lilisa

I loved the overall themes and the storyline of Zeyn Joukhadar’s second book! The main character is a trans Syrian-American boy who takes care of his beloved aged grandmother in a New York City apartment. Five years ago, he lost his ornithologist mother in a fire in a building Now, her ghost visits him in the evenings. With her death still encompassing him and the weight of his own life’s journey as a trans boy, he spends lonely hours in his apartment, stepping out in the evenings with close fri I loved the overall themes and the storyline of Zeyn Joukhadar’s second book! The main character is a trans Syrian-American boy who takes care of his beloved aged grandmother in a New York City apartment. Five years ago, he lost his ornithologist mother in a fire in a building Now, her ghost visits him in the evenings. With her death still encompassing him and the weight of his own life’s journey as a trans boy, he spends lonely hours in his apartment, stepping out in the evenings with close friends who are part of his tribe. When he finds the journal of Laila, a Syrian-American artist who vanished sixty years ago in the community building, we are presented with a second storyline - and chapters go back and forth between now and then (similar the author’s The Map of Salt and Stars- except that novel’s time gap is hundreds of years apart). Coincidentally, both his mother and Laila seemed to have experienced the same rare bird - years apart. As he undergoes his very personal journey of moving in his trans world, he follows the mysterious trail of Laila and her world leading to the intersection of their collective communities and worlds. As the story unfolds, community is an essential ingredient in both past and present - we learn about the Syrian-American community in the U.S. and the strong bonds of Syrian-American families - home life, socialization, livelihoods, and religious. Throughout the book, the imagery of birds plays an important role - whether it’s the sighting of a bird or birds before an event, a precious feather, or a bird “accident” - all are symbolic and add to the cadence of the story. While I enjoyed all aspects of the book, there was a lot going on at any given time that it felt it was sometimes overflowing at the seams with all that the author wanted to share. It’s probably why I felt that this book didn’t move as seamlessly and as perfectly as The Map of Salt and Stars, which I loooved and have listened to three times! Having said that, it shouldn’t take away from the book, which is definitely a well-deserved read and one I would recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
...more

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Mar 19, 2020 Paul rated it liked it

Thank you, Netgalley and Atria Books, for giving me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If I rated books based on good intentions, five stars wouldn't be enough for "The Thirty Names of Night." Mr. Joukhadar wants to celebrate the Muslim trans/LBGT community, honor immigrants of color, mourn a lost New York demolished in the name of progress, and educate the reader about the many spectacular species of birds in both the Middle East and North America, and probably a cou ...more

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Apr 01, 2020 Kerry Pickens rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2020

This book is very lyrical and poetic, but the plot is sketchy and hard to follow. It is not clear that the main character is transgender or what the significance of the found book is. The street scenes of New York are interesting but the storyline is too vague and slow moving to keep my attention.

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Dec 29, 2020 Tzipora rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bird-nerd, 2020-favorites, historical-fiction, syria, lgbt, read-in-2020, library-books, audiobooks, highly-recommended

What an incredibly beautiful novel! I considered requesting an arc from the publisher to feature on my bookstagram and I’m honestly kicking myself for not doing so because with it’s focus on birds, art, Syrian immigrants, and queerness, this book was absolutely made for me. If any, and ideally multiple or all, of those subject matters appeal to you- definitely don’t miss out on The Thirty Names of Night. Similarly, I’d heavy recommend this one for fans of historical fiction. I’ve grown tired of What an incredibly beautiful novel! I considered requesting an arc from the publisher to feature on my bookstagram and I’m honestly kicking myself for not doing so because with it’s focus on birds, art, Syrian immigrants, and queerness, this book was absolutely made for me. If any, and ideally multiple or all, of those subject matters appeal to you- definitely don’t miss out on The Thirty Names of Night. Similarly, I’d heavy recommend this one for fans of historical fiction. I’ve grown tired of historical fiction so often hitting the very same subjects or time periods again and again, and what makes this book a standout from the historical perspective is that it’s about a very underrepresented point of view, three generations of Syrian women and queerness and transness and fifty percent of the story occurs during the Great Depression in the Syrian communities of New York and Dearborn, MI. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who loves birds and ornithology, and perhaps caution anyone who finds that kind of thing boring. The Thirty Names of Night is packed full of birds and bird related details to such a degree that it will either be a big positive for bird lovers like myself, or perhaps a huge negative for those who aren’t so fond of or particularly interested in birds.

I think this book is difficult to review because there are a lot of different layers to it and such beautiful detail, language choices, metaphors. It was magical to listen to on audiobook (read by two authors from MENA/Levant specific backgrounds as well!) but I think I may have loved the experience of reading the physical book even better to really savor that beautiful language and all those bird metaphors and connections. And I would in general encourage reading the book over listening to the audio- this is one you really want to pay attention to and enjoy fully, while really taking in the incredible writing. Also, because the chapters flip back and forth between characters and time periods, while it’s expertly done and I didn’t have much trouble- I do tend to find this sort of thing more easy to follow when reading versus listening. Certainly something to know before choosing on format or the other.

So the book- oof, I am never going to do this justice. I legitimately think it’s up there in my top favorite books of the year and is one of the very small number of books I’ve ever finished and immediately thought “I’d really like to read this again.”

The story is largely told through the eyes of our narrator who isn’t named for much of the book. They are trans but closeted and bristling against all the complications of what their grandmother who they live with and care for would think as well as other members of their community, along with all the limitations and expectations placed on women in the Syrian community and world at large. The narrator’s mother passed away 5 years prior in a terrible accident. She was a renowned ornithologist who had spotted a rare bird, something no one really believed and her fight to prove it had had a very negative effect on her career. Our narrator is haunted in a sense by their mother and sets out to find the bird and stumbles on an old journal.

The journal belonged to a famous artist that her mother admired named Laila Z. She lived in the NY Syrian community during the Great Depression and was rumored to have also seen the same rare bird and painted it. No one has seen the painting and Laila Z long ago disappeared. Our narrator reads through the journal and hopes to find the missing bird painting and both vindicate and better understand their mother, as well as figure out what ever happened to Laila Z.

The novel itself goes back forth between the present and the narrator’s life- coping with grief, finding a sense of queer community and slowly coming out. The book’s author himself came out as trans last year and I really loved the many ways nuanced ways this book looks at trans and queer experiences, and all of it felt very true and so expertly detailed. Then we also see Laila’s life as a young immigrant and developing artist. Laila was in love with a woman back in Syria, her best friend, who gifted her a birds wing (like the cover image) and Laila addresses her journal to this friend, B, and still deeply loves, misses, and pines for her.

I really loved the way this book examines generations of queerness and also different ways three generations of women and trans men dealt with society and expectations and finding their own path. It’s also interesting to see different generations or immigrants and their descendants (and perhaps to acknowledge that Arab immigrants have long been a part of this country and it was always hard, but has in many ways gotten harder with worsening Islamophobia and racism- issues that also get discussed in the book.) And there’s an underlying story of grief here too that’s masterfully wrapped up.

The ending is on of my favorites I’ve read in a long time. Deeply satisfying. Beautiful. Poignant. I don’t know how else to say simply- READ THIS BOOK! ...more

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May 04, 2020 Fanna marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 1, 2020: Featured in Fanticipating Reads of May 2020!

✔ features three generations of Syrian-Americans
✔ mystery around birds
✔ trans boy protagonist
✔ mother’s ghost guides her son, Nadir, to unravel the mysteries around a rare bird
✔ ‘important themes of migration, sexuality, belonging, and love.’ ...more

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Jan 07, 2020 Rox marked it as to-read

Shelves: lgbtq, 2020-release

Ya'll...I cannot wait for this book to come out!
It sounds incredible and just wow. If Map of Salt and Stars is anything to go by, I think the Thirty Names of Night is going to be heartbreaking with beautiful language.
...more

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Dec 24, 2020 Glenda Nelms rated it it was amazing

“To the night, I am a body without a past or a future, a pillar that bends light. The night doesn't know my name.”

Haunting, breathtaking and beautiful novel about a Queer Syrian American trans boy who isn't ready to come out. Very reflective and descriptive. Told in two different points of view. Birds and paintings of birds remind him of his mother.

TW: Islamophobia, death, grief, xenophobia, transphobia, sexual assault. ...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Aleksandra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-releases

Great adult novel featuring dual timeline: we learn a story about Leila, a queer Syrian immigrant artist in the US of 1930s-1940s through the diary a queer trans Syrian immigrant artist found in the modern time. His arc revolves around grief and trying to finish the task his mother started. The novel has done so much and it combines various themes together seamlessly. It’s a story about family and complicated family bonds, it’s about art and passion and striving to be more, it’s a portrayal of m ...more

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Nov 13, 2020 sarah added it

thank you to libro.fm for providing me with an early audiobook copy of this EXTRAORDINARY story! this book tackles so many topics and it does it with so much grace, weaving our main character’s coming out process with stories of the past. it talks about transphobia, gentrification, connection, religion, racism, queer love, and birds. i can’t recommend this book enough- be fully prepared to feel all the feelings. while the audiobook is done very well and i loved the narration, i feel like i misse ...more

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Sep 05, 2020 Lisa Konet added it

Shelves: awful-dislike-or-dnf, popular, lit-fict, no, 2020, cover-art, recommendation-reader, do-not-read-dont-bother, netgalley, dont-believe-hype

-1 too much happening
-1 Arabic customs/lifestyle not explained well
-1 story all over the place
+1 descriptions/imagery
+1 cover

I really wanted to love this book but it was struggle. The cover art is great and the title is catching. However, the book takes place largely in the Little Syria section of NYC with customs and culture that are not explained well are vague AF. The only saving grace as to why I suffered on hoping this would improve is the imagery. Transsexuals, ghosts, many birds; it was a ...more

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May 17, 2020 Janet Hutcheson rated it it was ok

I am sad that I didn’t like this book. It just was so confusing-too many themes and too many characters. I struggled through it hoping it would get better. Most people gave it excellent reviews so I feel bad being in the minority.

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Nov 11, 2020 Jade rated it it was amazing

Shelves: current-events, lgbtqia, must-read, amazing, 2020, family, fiction, nyc, immigration-stories, love

I put off starting this book for too long because I knew that once I started it I wouldn’t be able to stop, and I knew that all too soon it would be over, and I would be left craving more. I absolutely loved Zeyn Joukhadar’s first novel The Map of Salt and Stars, it still haunts me today, the parallel storylines, the epic descriptions, the words that made my heart hurt, and fly at the same time. So obviously I was overjoyed when I saw that his second novel would be released this year. And it is I put off starting this book for too long because I knew that once I started it I wouldn’t be able to stop, and I knew that all too soon it would be over, and I would be left craving more. I absolutely loved Zeyn Joukhadar’s first novel The Map of Salt and Stars, it still haunts me today, the parallel storylines, the epic descriptions, the words that made my heart hurt, and fly at the same time. So obviously I was overjoyed when I saw that his second novel would be released this year. And it is just as beautiful, just as heartbreaking, and just as epic as his first, all the while completely different. The Thirty Names of Night is going to be my number one favorite read this year, just like The Map of Salt and Stars was my favorite of 2018 (and 2019 because I read it again last year).

The Thirty Names of Night is ultimately a story of discovery and self-acceptance. I don’t want to give it all away in my review, but it’s hard to describe the overall storyline without telling part of the plot. It is the story of Nadir, a young person of Syrian descent, whose mother’s death in a fire five years before still haunts him (so much that he constantly sees her ghost in his daily life). Nadir’s mother was an ornithologist who documented rare Northern American birds, and who had been trying to convince others of her sighting of a bird so rare that barely anyone believed it existed. Woven into Nadir’s story is also the story of Laila Z, brilliant artist of birds, Syrian immigrant to the US in the early 20th century, who disappeared 40 years earlier never to be seen again. Nadir makes it his mission to uncover the mystery of the bird, thereby keeping his mother’s spirit close, and in doing so discovers the secrets of Laila Z’s life and disappearance. But the overall arch to this story is Nadir’s transformation and self-acceptance, at first hiding the body that doesn’t represent what he feels inside, and then finally ready to accept who he really is.

There is so much depth in each story, and every detail matters, right down to the names of each character: how names carry importance, whether they are our personal choice or that of another. I love how the author describes the setting, each description reminds me of my own life in NYC, walking, smelling, hearing… Zeyn Joukhadar has this amazing ability to paint a moving picture with words, weaving past, present and different characters together, to create these beautifully deep and real stories that don’t leave you. Birds are such a huge, integral part of this book, and I love how they appear everywhere, porters of messages, of hope, of healing, of secrets. On a personal level birds amaze me, and I have spent a lot of time over the past 8 months observing them from my balcony, so their symbolism in the novel added yet another depth to it for me. Just absolutely beautiful.

I cannot recommend this story enough, it captured my heart.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. And thank you so much to Zeyn Joukhadar for writing such epic, beautiful, timeless, and timely stories. ...more

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Dec 26, 2020 Hannah // Book Nerd Native rated it really liked it

This is a stunning story about identity and discovering oneself. This book was so reflective and open, and offered some really great conversations. I think this one would be great for book club! I really love books with two storylines and points of view that eventually find a connection point, and this one weaved this connection together perfectly. It was beautifully written, but definitely more consumable than a lot of literary fiction titles I've read. It was compulsively readable, making this ...more

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Jan 12, 2021 Mara rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, netgalley, literary-fiction, read-in-2021

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar is a fascinating dual timeline epistolary novel in the form of journal entries written to loved ones both characters have lost. The novel focuses on Laila, a Syrian woman who immigrated to New York City in her youth and documents her life in the mid twentieth century. Laila Z. ultimately becomes an artist known for painting birds who mysteriously disappears. The other protagonist is a 2nd generation Syrian-American trans man in his twenties in present ...more

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Dec 12, 2020 Adri rated it really liked it

Shelves: ownvoices, queer-lit, favorites, audiobooks

4.5 Stars

CWs: Graphic descriptions of medical complications due to menstruation, allusions to homophobia and racism, mentions of Islamophobic violence/hate crimes, brief descriptions of sexual assault, trauma relating to fires, exploration of grief and loss of a parent

"I think of the last time I used my hands to make something beautiful. As long as my body was not for myself, I stopped allowing myself the luxury of wanting...I bend and untangle and step out of my body. I lightning myself

"I think of the last time I used my hands to make something beautiful. As long as my body was not for myself, I stopped allowing myself the luxury of wanting...I bend and untangle and step out of my body. I lightning myself into this swollen room where boys like me are arcing and vaulting our unruly bodies, shaking the wet newness from our wings."

The Thirty Names of Night is a tremendous feat of literature. Ambitious in scope, unflinching in its prose, and characterized by deeply-felt emotion, this story weaves a narrative that is both haunting and hopeful in equal measures. It's about the echoes of love and grief that sound from the unlikeliest of places, searching for meaning in a world that all too often seeks to isolate and destroy that which is separate, and the ways we are wholly and irrevocably connected to the people who've come before us.

This is a story about a young Syrian-American trans man trying to find a place within his communities and a name for himself. He is haunted by the death of his mother, who was killed in an Islamophobic hate crime, and in many ways desperately trying to preserve her legacy by completing her ornithological research. The convention of naming is so powerful throughout this story. To give something a name is to give it power, to assign meaning, to recognize and understand where it belongs. So to have Nadir discovering and naming his own transness is powerful—to have him naming his grief, naming his own sense of loss and isolation, gives him a means to begin addressing those things. It's very much a story about him coming into his own, and what that means and looks like in a world where "different" is telegraphed "dangerous."

The way the two POVs interact with each other and support each other is especially profound. As Nadir goes through Laila's journals, you get the sense that history is always happening to us, the past is always with us, and those who came before us often fought for the same things we continue to fight for ourselves. There's an acknowledgement of the stories that the world has tried to erase, the stories that don't get a chance to be told because they're buried. But sometimes that burying is for safe-keeping, to ensure a means of these stories surviving so that they might live on in someone else and empower the generations we are not even capable of imagining yet. Some stories don't get a chance to be told, but that doesn't mean they're aren't valuable or important.

This book is a ballad, a poem, a love letter, and an entire world unto itself. It is a love letter to queer communities of color, immigrants, trans people, and those who are invested in expanding the world instead of shrinking it. It contains some of the most gut-wrenchingly honest descriptions of transness and transmasculinity that I've ever read, and really makes space for the sense of loneliness and placelessness that comes with that experience while also exploring and celebrating the beauty of transition.

I do not have the words to express how profoundly truthful and thoughtful this story is. An intricate blend of historical and contemporary fiction, The Thirty Names of Night is an incredible addition to the literary canon. I cannot wait to read so much more from Zeyn Joukhadar, whose vision and creativity I deeply admire after experiencing this truly phenomenal story. I cannot recommend it enough! ...more

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About Zeyn Joukhadar

Zeyn Joukhadar

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Zeyn Joukhadar is the author of the novels The Map of Salt and Stars (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 2018) and The Thirty Names of Night (Atria/Simon & Schuster, 24 Nov 2020) and a member of the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI). His work has appeared or is forthcoming in KINK: Stories (ed. RO Kwon & Garth Greenwell), Salon, The Paris Review, Shondaland, [PANK], Mizna, and elsewhere, and has be ...more