An Unnecessary Woman
Sophisticated
Charming
Easy read

An Unnecessary Woman A Novel

A happily misanthropic Middle East divorcee finds refuge in books in a “beautiful and absorbing” novel of late-life crisis (The New York Times). Aaliya is a divorced, childless, and reclusively cranky translator in Beirut nurturing doubts about her latest project: a 900-page avant-garde, linguistically serpentine historiography by a late Chilean existentialist. Honestly, at seventy-two, should she be taking on such a project? Not that Aailiya fears dying. Women in her family live long; her mother is still going crazy. But on this lonely day, hour-by-hour, Aaliya’s musings on literature, philosophy, her career, and her aging body, are suddenly invaded by memories of her volatile past. As she tries in vain to ward off these emotional upwellings, Aaliya is faced with an unthinkable disaster that threatens to shatter the little life she has left. In this “meditation on, among other things, aging, politics, literature, loneliness, grief and resilience” (The New York Times), Alameddine conjures “a beguiling narrator . . . who is, like her city, hard to read, hard to take, hard to know and, ultimately, passionately complex” (San Francisco Chronicle). A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award, An Unnecessary Woman is “a fun, and often funny . . . grave, powerful . . . [and] extraordinary” Washington Independent Review of Books) ode to literature and its power to define who we are. “Read it once, read it twice, read other books for a decade or so, and then pick it up and read it anew. This one’s a keeper” (The Independent)
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Reviews

Photo of Deepika Ramesh
Deepika Ramesh@theboookdog
5 stars
Jan 25, 2024
Photo of azliana aziz
azliana aziz@heartinidleness
5 stars
Jan 13, 2024
Photo of Bilge Ince
Bilge Ince@bilge
4 stars
Jun 24, 2023
Photo of Shelby Doherty
Shelby Doherty@dohertys17
4.5 stars
Jan 4, 2022
This review contains a spoiler
Honest
Charming
Easy read
Sophisticated
Photo of Nathan Griffin
Nathan Griffin@burdell
3 stars
Oct 29, 2021
Photo of Tori Carrillo
Tori Carrillo@stori_bookending90
5 stars
Oct 20, 2021
Photo of Juliana
Juliana@soundly
4 stars
Jun 14, 2023
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thb@bacer
5 stars
Aug 17, 2022
Photo of Mariah
Mariah@spoony1luv
3.5 stars
May 20, 2022
Photo of Gigi V
Gigi V@barksandvino
3 stars
May 2, 2024
Photo of Sonia Grgas
Sonia Grgas@sg911911
4 stars
Feb 23, 2024
Photo of Haleemah Sadiah
Haleemah Sadiah@haleemahsadiah
5 stars
Feb 3, 2024
Photo of Amy
Amy@amywhoisawesome
3 stars
Jan 3, 2024
Photo of Clare B
Clare B@hadaly
5 stars
Jan 3, 2023
Photo of Jason Skicewicz
Jason Skicewicz@jskitz
4 stars
Oct 25, 2022
Photo of Katie Chua
Katie Chua@kchua
2 stars
Aug 13, 2022
Photo of Alisha
Alisha @theawardshow
5 stars
Jul 18, 2022
Photo of Anne Driscoll
Anne Driscoll @settlerofcatanne
4 stars
May 30, 2022
Photo of Cindy Lieberman
Cindy Lieberman@chicindy
3 stars
Mar 26, 2022
Photo of Jennifer A.
Jennifer A.@miesie112
3 stars
Feb 8, 2022
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Lauren Attaway@camcray
2 stars
Jan 26, 2022
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Athena Eloy@athenaeloy
4 stars
Jan 12, 2022
Photo of Moray Lyle McIntosh
Moray Lyle McIntosh@bookish_arcadia
2 stars
Dec 5, 2021
Photo of Eva Talmadge
Eva Talmadge@evatalmadge
5 stars
Sep 15, 2021

Highlights

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