Mister N by Najwá Barakāt (translated by Luke Leafgreen)Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Review: Mr. N is the ultimate in unreliable narrators, as the story slips through time and in and out of delusions. This makes it hard for the reader to extract an actual story thread, as there are no textual clues beyond the opening lines of the scene to tell you when the action takes place, or whether it's taking place in reality at all. However, Barakāt does an admirable job of pulling it together to give the reader something cohesive to hold on to at the end. In between, we get a glimpse of war-torn Lebanon and the plight of its people.
This is not the book for a reader looking for a linear narrative. However, a reader who can decipher Mister N's train of thought will be rewarded by the quality of the writing and the resolution, such as it is.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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