The Frightened Ones

June 1, 2020
A Syrian woman confronts a fictionalized version of herself. Suleima, the woman who narrates this brief but intense novel, lives in Damascus. It's the present day, more or less, and Suleima's father has died, her brother is missing, and her mother spends each day reading the same page of an unnamed book. Suleima is reading a manuscript that Naseem, a former lover, has written; the woman who narrates Naseem's manuscript resembles Suleima herself, and, in fact, her chapters alternate with Suleima's own--it's a novel within a novel. Actually, the two women resemble each other so closely, and their voices have been rendered so similarly, that it quickly becomes difficult to differentiate between them. Wannous' novel is made up almost entirely of memories and reflections narrated either by Suleima or her double; there is very little dialogue, and no other characters are given a chance to speak. The effect is somewhat claustrophobic. That might be partly the point--the oppressive atmosphere of the novel resembles that of Assad's Syria--but it also begins to feel self-indulgent and even tiresome, as Suleima describes her fears and dreams in long, lingering asides. Glimpses of another character's point of view would have helped. Suleima and Naseem originally met in the waiting room of the therapist, Kamil, they both visited. Kamil appears in the book from time to time, but always filtered through Suleima's consciousness; he isn't given much of a chance to speak for himself. Neither is Suleima's mother nor any of the other minor characters. In the end, the book feels like a missed opportunity.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 15, 2020
Syrian writer Wannous’s English-language debut is a bleak, multilayered tale of depression and fear framed by violence, discrimination, displacement, and revolution in Damascus after the 2011 uprising. It follows Suleima, a young woman struggling with anxiety, as she meets Naseem, a troubled writer who publishes under a pseudonym, in her therapist’s waiting room. The two develop an intense relationship that abruptly ends when Naseem flees to Germany to escape Assad’s dictatorship. He sends Suleima an unfinished manuscript featuring an unnamed main character that Suleima recognizes as a version of herself (“It’s true that her family is different, as are her memories, but our souls clearly spin in the same orbit”). From there, Wannous alternates between Naseem’s writing and Suleima’s narration, in which she looks back on her life in Damascus from her own refuge in Beirut. The author describes the politics of the revolution and neatly parallels the present-day atrocities and Suleima’s parents’ memories of a 1982 massacre, but at the work’s core is Wannous’s exploration of Suleima’s struggles with her mental health, as she relies on Xanax whenever her heartbeat reaches its “dreaded gallop.” Though powerful in its portrayal of Suleima’s layered ordeal, the dueling narratives are somewhat disjointed. Still, this deeply humane examination of wartime Syrians and their coping mechanisms deserves a look.

Starred review from July 1, 2020

Short-listed for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, this new novel by Syrian author Wannous (The Chair) purveys fear as a tangible force so intense that it creates a claustrophobic reality. Suleima, an anorexic young artist who suffers from panic attacks and continuing grief over losing her beloved father at the vulnerable age of 14, waits at the psychotherapist's office for her appointment. There she meets Naseem, a novelist whose prominent features attract her attention. They become lovers, but Naseem immigrates to Germany, and the remainder of the narrative unfolds simultaneously as the manuscript of a novel he sends her and her responses to its content. Disturbingly, his protagonist, Salma, has a life very similar to that of Suleima and suffers the same debilitating fear of being afraid that paralyzes nearly everyone in this extraordinary work, which offers insight into Assad's Syria, authoritarian control, and the workings of the human psyche. VERDICT Issues of safety, security, and a sense of belonging, as well as thoughts on dreams, life, love, family and death, are all integral to this complex, multifaceted work. Flawlessly written and translated, it is highly recommended and would be useful in many discussion groups. [See Prepub Alert, 2/4/20.]--Lisa Rohrbaugh, Leetonia Community P.L., OH

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.