Sherazade

Rating:
Summary: Alienation and Identity in Sherazade
Review: I suppose that every runaway has a story to tell. Usually it involves some sort of abuse or neglect at home. But sometimes it involves searching for identity. Author Leila Sebbar paints a bleak picture of a runaway's day to day existence in Sherazade. I found the book to be a disturbing look at a problem that seems to be growing in cities throughout the world.
The main character, Sherazade, was born in Algeria, raised in France, and is torn between two worlds. She is a dark-skinned immigrant in a country where such characteristics invite suspicion. And seeing in the news the recent wave of racism and anti-immigration sweeping across France made this novel especially relevant to me.
Sherazade hooks up with a diverse group of other disenfranchised youth. They come mostly from former French colonies in search of a life. They are all immigrants or children of immigrants who haven't assimilated. Sherazade and the others are squatters living by their wits and resorting to violence when it suits them. Each has his own or her own reason for living on the streets. I can't say that I'm convinced that their lifestyle is justified, but I think that the author intends to portray them as a product of a dysfunctional society. She is holding a mirror up to society that shows how alienation and poverty breed such people.
Sherazade and her "squat mates" aren't completely disdained by French society. There is a `sympathetic' element in French high society has is enamored by these `street urchins'. It is a two way street of exploitation between the affluent and the disadvantaged. I found this relationship kind of creepy, like an Andy Warhol art house crowd mixing with a gang of street punks. Sherazade and her friends are paraded around like new jewelry or the latest fashion. I think this only elevates the animosity between the two groups. Eventually, Sherazade becomes romantically involved with one of these `benefactors'. Julien Desrosiers is a photographer smitten with Sherazade's beauty. He takes her under his wing and tries to help her. He introduces her to Orientalist art and the painting of Matisse. She is particularly drawn to Matisse's odalisques which portray Arab concubines in various settings. One painting titled "Odalisque in Red Trousers" strikes a nerve in her. It will become a catalyst for change in her life. It will help her to decide whether she is French or Algerian. The relationship between Sherazade and Julien reminded me of Pygmalion, except that Sherazade is only seventeen and is sleeping with a man twice her own age.
I believe Leila Sebbar makes a very powerful statement with Sherazade. The sub-culture of disenfranchised and alienated immigrants that exists in modern day France is a direct result of French colonialism. The lifestyle that Sherazade and her friends lead is disturbing and depressing. But I feel that Sherazade's story needed to be told. Hers is one voice out of thousands of voices with a similar story.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent French Resource
Review: I truly enjoyed Sherazade. I read it in a North African women's literature class in college. . . it opened my eyes up to a totally different culture. Sherazade is a young woman searching for her true identity, attempting to reconcile her past with the present. I recommend this book for any one who is interested in reading about growing up in a different culture.

Rating:
Summary: Sherazade, by Leila Sebbar
Review: In this novel the protagonist, Sherazade is a seventeen year old girl. She is of Algerian descent, but was raised in France. In the midst of an identity crisis she decides to run away from home, although we are not given a specific reason why she decided to run away, she appears to be on a quest for knowledge, a quest of self-discovery. As Sherazade wanders around Paris, she finds many friends, with whom she shares a "squat" (unoccupied building homeless people live in.) What I found most extraordinary about this novel is the ease with which it could be read. I found myself constantly turning the pages without even realizing it, and before I knew it I was half way done with the book. Perhaps this is because the novel does such a good job building suspense. Throughout Sherazade's journey we are constantly left in the dark about everything. In this story it is difficult to predict what will happen next.
Another reason this novel flows so well is because of its many characters, and their stories. Throughout the novel we are introduced to many of Sherazsde's "squat mates" (friends with whom she shares a squat) each one having their own story, their own personality, and their own reasons for living in a squat. As a reader it becomes extremely difficult to not become involved in their stories. For example Djamilia is a half French and half Algerian girl who is on a quest to return to Algeria and reunite with her father and brothers. Eddie is a Tunisian Jew who loves music, and throughout the course of the novel falls in love with Djamilia. Krim is a biker who is a good mechanic; he is one of the only squat mates who actually comes from a good family. Driess is a drug addict, and a drunk. He appears to be extremely hurt and emotionally scarred because neither one of his parents wanted him; he feels he has never really had a place he could call home. Pierrot and Basil are socialist idealists who engaged in many radical activities such as planning robberies in the name of the cause. Basil is a ladies man, and Pierrot comes from a family of Polish immigrants. He is also great with his hands, it is he who teaches the rest of the crew how many things such as how to make Molotov cocktails, as well as other small explosives; he is also deeply in love with Sherazade. Julian doesn't live in the squat, however also plays an important role in Sherazade's life. He is the son of a French couple however he was raised in Algeria; he is an ardent orientalist who becomes very interested in Sherazade, and eventually falls in love with her.
Although I was fascinated by the many stories they share throughout the novel, the real question was where is Sherazade in the end of the novel? I became extremely interested in Sherazade. I followed her through her many adventures as she wanders about the streets of France I became eager to finish the novel, attempting to understand the lesson learned. However the ending to this novel provided me with more questions than it gave answers. It seems that at the end of her journey towards self-discovery, Sherazade doesn't discover anything. As a reader the ending left me with so many questions that it ruined the entire novel. I was hoping this novel would provide a valuable lesson to be learned, or at least answer the question, "what did Sherazade learn throughout this novel? But it didn't. This book is only the first part of a trilogy, and it seems for those of us who became interested in Sherazade, we will have to wait until the other two volumes (which have remained untranslated for many years) are published in English.

Rating:
Summary: Sherazade Book Review
Review: Sherazade by Leila Sebbar is a book about an Algerian girl raised in France. As a teenager she runs away from her family and lives in a squat with other vagabonds who are either adolescents or young adults. Sherazade dreams of returning to Algeria someday, but in the meantime she is trying to make it in France. She seems to have no direction or goal in life. She drifts back and forth between the squat and staying with her boyfriend Julien.
I liked the storyline of Sherazade, but I thought that the writing style that Leila Sebbar used was very confusing. Each chapter is devoted to a character, and she jumps around too much. There is no real introduction to each character, and it is very difficult to keep all the different characters straight. I found that while I could understand the events that were taking place, I had a hard time knowing who the characters were. In other words, I could understand what was happening, I just couldn't understand who was involved.
Another aspect of Sherazade I didn't like is the way the book didn't explain either the beginning or the end. In the beginning of the book you learn that Sherazade has run away from her family, but you are not given a reason why. In fact, all the information that you are given about Sherazade's family makes the fact that she ran away even more confusing. Sherazade's family continues to search for her, and she hears tearful pleas on the radio by her sister for her to come home. Still, Sherazade makes no attempt to go home or contact her family. This confused me, and I felt that it was never cleared up.
Also, the ending was not explained very well and left me confused. In the end, Sherazade is going to hitch a ride to Algeria with one of her squat mates named Pierrot. Pierrot is in love with Sherazade. Pierrot is driving with Sherazade and there is an accident. Pierrot dies, but Sherazade escapes. Sherazade tells him to cross the Loire with his car, which he does knowing that he has explosives in the car. It is not made clear whether Pierrot meant to kill himself and Sherazade or not. Also, Sherazade escapes at the end, but there is no explanation given as to what happened to Sherazade after she left the accident site. It felt like the story built up so much and then just ended. It seemed as if the author just wanted to end the book and didn't know how.
The one aspect of this book that I did like is how the author put characters of all different nationalities in the squat, and all of the characters co-exist with each other without any problems. I liked how they all were able to live in harmony even though they all came from different places. However, they all face discrimination and racism by the Parisians. . I also liked how Leila Sebbar illustrated the conflict of being a resident of a country, yet not being accepted as a member of that country. I liked how even though the characters were all discriminated against by the Parisians, they all accepted each other.
Overall, I liked this book. I liked the message the book gave about accepting other people's cultures. I wish that more had been explained and that it was written in a more organized manner so that I could keep that characters straight. However, I know that there are two more sequels to the Sherazade book, and perhaps by writing the ending and leaving out details as she did, it makes people want to read the next book in search of answers. That is exactly the feeling I had after reading this book. I wanted to know more about Sherazade and what happened to her.

Rating:
Summary: Sherazade
Review: Sherazade is a runaway teen searching for her identity. Throughout this book I was searching for a reason on why she ran away from home because her parents seemed loving and caring and it didn't seem like she had a tough childhood. Though, I discovered that Sherazade was searching for her true identity. She knew she wasn't completely free because she was not herself and she wasn't comfortable with that.
She lives in a squad with many young kids as well, who seem to have an unstable life but this instability comes from the world not accepting them for who they are. Their revenge is to steal from the French who put them in the position of denying their culture. Sherazade, for the age that she is, 16, seems to be focused, independent, and determined. She doesn't attach herself to anything or anyone. You don't get a sense of weakness from her; she remains strong throughout the book.
Julian is an older man who falls in love with Sherazade. One might read this book and not see that Sherazade loved Julian as well, but I believe she did. At one point in the book, she started to share personal stories with Julian about her life and that was something Sherazade didn't share with anyone. Her love for him was silent and not so obvious as Julian's love for her, though that was part of Sherazade being strong. She ran away from home for a reason, to chase after her Algerian identity, and she didn't let anyone get in her way. Her love for Julian stayed with in because I believe she knew that would be a distraction and she had to remain strong so she can get to her destination.
Shehrazade tends to run away from everything and everyone, even the ones that love her, though she remained sane and survived through her readings and writings. I believe she felt much safer when she was dealing with herself and her own thoughts because she withheld the truth and Sherazade didn't seem like she trusted anyone. Though, why should she? She is a 16-year-old girl running away from the family she loves so she can find herself and live in a place where she is accepted for who she really is and not be judged by it.
The color red is brought up from the beginning of the book until the end. When something was being described, red would be the main color. At the end, the color red later on merged into the painting Sherazade admired by Matisse. At first I thought that Sherazade loved the painting of Odalisque with Red Trousers. Though, I realized that she was not fascinated with the painting because she loved it, but she was fascinated with it because she was disgusted by it. That painting gave her more determination for her to go back home because in this painting she realized how her culture was being misrepresented. She bought all the postcards and send them out to friends and her family and I understood this to mean that she wanted them to understand why she ran away and this was the best explanation she could find.
Over all this book was very interesting to read and Sherazade is a very strong and independent woman who played a major role in this book and helped the viewers see the struggle of the Arabic culture and also see how it effected many people especially the young generation who people tend to neglect and see how effected they are as well. This book had my attention from the beginning to the end and I enjoyed it very much. The ending was not what I expected, it didn't seem like it belonged in the book at all.

Rating:
Summary: Sherazade
Review: Sherazade is a runaway teen searching for her identity. Throughout this book I was searching for a reason on why she ran away from home because her parents seemed loving and caring and it didn't seem like she had a tough childhood. Though, I discovered that Sherazade was searching for her true identity. She knew she wasn't completely free because she was not herself and she wasn't comfortable with that.
She lives in a squad with many young kids as well, who seem to have an unstable life but this instability comes from the world not accepting them for who they are. Their revenge is to steal from the French who put them in the position of denying their culture. Sherazade, for the age that she is, 16, seems to be focused, independent, and determined. She doesn't attach herself to anything or anyone. You don't get a sense of weakness from her; she remains strong throughout the book.
Julian is an older man who falls in love with Sherazade. One might read this book and not see that Sherazade loved Julian as well, but I believe she did. At one point in the book, she started to share personal stories with Julian about her life and that was something Sherazade didn't share with anyone. Her love for him was silent and not so obvious as Julian's love for her, though that was part of Sherazade being strong. She ran away from home for a reason, to chase after her Algerian identity, and she didn't let anyone get in her way. Her love for Julian stayed with in because I believe she knew that would be a distraction and she had to remain strong so she can get to her destination.
Shehrazade tends to run away from everything and everyone, even the ones that love her, though she remained sane and survived through her readings and writings. I believe she felt much safer when she was dealing with herself and her own thoughts because she withheld the truth and Sherazade didn't seem like she trusted anyone. Though, why should she? She is a 16-year-old girl running away from the family she loves so she can find herself and live in a place where she is accepted for who she really is and not be judged by it.
The color red is brought up from the beginning of the book until the end. When something was being described, red would be the main color. At the end, the color red later on merged into the painting Sherazade admired by Matisse. At first I thought that Sherazade loved the painting of Odalisque with Red Trousers. Though, I realized that she was not fascinated with the painting because she loved it, but she was fascinated with it because she was disgusted by it. That painting gave her more determination for her to go back home because in this painting she realized how her culture was being misrepresented. She bought all the postcards and send them out to friends and her family and I understood this to mean that she wanted them to understand why she ran away and this was the best explanation she could find.
Over all this book was very interesting to read and Sherazade is a very strong and independent woman who played a major role in this book and helped the viewers see the struggle of the Arabic culture and also see how it effected many people especially the young generation who people tend to neglect and see how effected they are as well. This book had my attention from the beginning to the end and I enjoyed it very much. The ending was not what I expected, it didn't seem like it belonged in the book at all.

Rating:
Summary: Sherazade Book Review
Review: Sherezade, a novel that follows the drama of a group of restless and displaced youths living together in Paris, is a story that speaks to any reader who has experiences a desperate longing to belong and a need to understand his or her place in the world. In this story, Leila Sebbar beautifully narrates the interaction of several characters of various ethnic backgrounds and family histories that live together in a flat in the suburbs of Paris. She focuses in particular on the main character, Sherezade, and Algerian child raised in a foreign land and forced to accept the French culture. Sherezade runs away from a loving home and joins these `squatmates' to share with them the desire to find meaning in the lives while dealing with the complexities of defining a cultural identity in a foreign land. The novel details the intricate relationships these youths have with their past, with their country, and with each other.
The novel presents several strong characters, but Sherezade's spirit leaves a lasting impression on the reader. Her inquisitive youthfulness refuses to allow her to simply accept her role as an Algerian woman in France, and she leaves the comfort and security of home at a young age to determine her own identity and a more personal understanding of her culture, her roots, and herself. Throughout her journey, Sherezade is exposed to a raw and an unfamiliar world and is inundated with the varying opinion and views of the other characters that she meets along the way. Despite these influences, Sherezade remains determined and continues on her course of learning and self-discovery.
While reading Sherezade, I was especially intrigued with the theme of artistic representation and interpretations. The author examines how a subject in a photograph or painting is defined by the way the artist has chosen to depict her and the often negative effects that this depiction can have on how the subject is viewed as a result. Sebbar explores how this subject is often tragically objectified and demoralized in the art form and emphasizes this oppressive relationship throughout the novel. Sherezade is exposed to the depiction of Algerian women as sexual objects and is so moved by this injustice that she becomes overwhelmed by the desire to travel to her homeland of Algeria to experience Algerian culture firsthand. Her understanding of her roots and homeland, and ultimately herself, are based on others' perceptions of Algeria and its people. Sherezade learns that she will never grasp her cultural identity if she allows herself to accept the demeaning French view of Algerians as objects. I was fascinated that Sherezade refuses to succumb to the objectification and sexualization of herself by the people and culture of a land that did not understand her, and was impressed with her personal journey of discovery as she struggled to define herself both as a woman and as an Algerian.
I found Sebbar's novel to be a meaningful examination of the human need to belong and the innate desire in each person to find a purpose and direction in life. Despite various backgrounds, life experiences, and future goals, the squatmates are linked in an inevitable bond that connects lost souls and wandering spirits searching for the meaning of their lives. Combined with the exuberance and restlessness of youth, this need for identity and purpose is a formula for an insightful look at the search for one's sense of self. Sherezade's need to break away from the binding chains of expectation and complacency that are placed on her by various outside influences is a testament to her strength and integrity in the novel, while also serving as an inspiration to anyone experiencing similar feelings of restlessness.

Rating:
Summary: In Search of Myself
Review: The back cover of the book provides the reader with the main plot of the story, yet it fails to provide information about the subplot, which is just as important. Sherazade is indeed the main character but the reader also has to give full attention to the other characters who serve to give a more rounded and very detailed account of the story.
With the exception of Sherazade and Julian, the young people in the story are militants, musicians, runaways, and outcasts of the society they live in. Each has their own reason for being away from their families and living in a condemned building. They are searching for a sense of freedom and an identity that has eluded them all their lives.
Even though some represent the children of the fighters of the revolution, they have no connection to the reason for the fight and its importance to their parents. Even though they are of different ethnic and economic backgrounds, they manage to live together, albeit in poverty, without one person trying to dominate any other person, which for me was one of the highlights of the novel. They brought to mind a mini United Nations minus the disagreements. They are living in Paris, a country that doesn't want them, so they are forced to live as best as they can, which occasionally means stealing to get money and food.
Sherazade is also searching for her identity, even though she comes from a loving home. She rejects Julian's affection towards her because he is not seeing her for who she is, but rather as an image of how he sees Algerian women. He compares her to the different odalisques that he loves so much. When she finally sees the one he is most impressed with she is appalled that he makes such a comparison. The odalisque depict Algerian woman as objects intended for use by men and not as human beings with thoughts and minds of their own.
The novel is also a social comment on the way the young people are viewed and exploited by the wealthy members of French society. They become objects of interest for amusement and sexual fantasy. Sherazade and her friends rebel against this exploitation in various ways. The intertwining plots help to make the novel a worthwhile read and provide the reader with information about what can happen when society fails to acknowledge its younger generations.