I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

Rating:
Summary: Sarah and her family are so real!
Review: I could not believe that the book is fiction. I laughed, cried, and felt the terror with Sarah. Sarah has an incredible multi-dimensional story interconnected with every member of her family. All of this while trying to figure out where she belongs. Rabih's story telling style let you gaze through the eyes of key people in the story, making you a willing participant in Sarah's life.

Rabih did an excellent job by guiding the reader through the ups and downs of her life, and bringing forward the intricate quarks of the Lebanese Druze culture and the language.

As a Druze and Arab-American, I connected with Sarah and her family from the first pages until the Introduction at the end. I was glued to the book, which I read in one day, although I am not an avid book reader. I also love the never ending chapter 1.

However there are two parts that I did not favor, chapter 1, pp 192-201 due to violence, and pp 231-240 for the dream/faint sequence. Other than that the book is excellent.

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: I finished reading this "divine" novel wanting more. Having a Middle Eastern born father I was able to connect with the characters of this book on a deeper level. Her family and their actions were spectacularly portrayed.

My connection with Sarah was uncanny as I too have been called the "free spirit" of the family. Mr. Alameddine did a fantastic job of capturing her psyche. It has been awhile since I have read a novel of such substance. Sarah's many facets were thoroughly explored in this novel, leaving the reader wanting to help her gain some direction for her life. I am glad to have discovered Mr. Alameddine's writing and I look forward to reading his other books.

Rating:
Summary: In the beginning...
Review: This book was a treat. I picked it up at a "2books for 10£" sale at a book store in London, as a companion to justify my other purchase.

I had vaguely heard of the author, Rabih Alameddine, who I believe has been championed by follow Lebanese, historian/author Edward Said. It wasnt until I read the gushing reviews from fellow authors inside that I realized the author was male.

As everybody knows by now, the book is written in a series of first chapters of a book. It was an interesting approach that did take a little while to get used to. Some of the chapters do indeed read like first chapters, and those validate the unique approach well. Others chapters felt less genuine in this regard and understandably, those felt a little gimmicky.

Overall the author does a good job in fleshing the story of Sarah Nour el- Din's life; a story that is being "written" by the protagonist as a memoir. He stumbles a bit in the beginning, and left this reader initially feeling like he had little clue as to how to inhabit the mind of a female character. After a few rough early chapters, Alameddine does a better job in capturing the neccesary nuances. And it is there that the story takes off.

Sarah's "family" is fascinating-- totally disfunctional but ever so clannish. As the novel builds momentum, it is easy to be drawn into the lives of each of the seemingly periferal characters-- fathers, mothers, sons, siblings and lovers.

Something worth noting:
The writing style in a few of the chapters was contrived and annoying-- but as I finished the book I was left with the impression that this was probably intentional. I think it was an effective way to show us the fits and starts that we all experince whenever we sit down to chronicle our own lives either orally or by pen.

I am looking forward to reading Alameddine's first novel "Koolaids."