An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine is a memorable character study of 72 year old Aaliya, an extreme introvert who is obsessed with literature and who lives virtually as a recluse in her home in Beirut, Lebanon. The book is challenging to read. Nevertheless, regardless of the challenges, something in this book - something about Aaliya - speaks to me. She is perhaps one of the most memorable characters I have read recently.

Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/05/an-unnecessary-woman.html

An absolutely beautiful book. One of the most complete, compelling, funny and intelligent characters I have ever read. A meditation on literature and loneliness that I related to and was absolutely moved by. The prose was playful and poetic, rhythmic, with so much life and movement, so many sub-stories and details of our character's life. It is probably the only novel that I read in a long time that I have longed to begin again, almost immediately.

This book was okay; I just don't think it was for me. I probably wouldn't have finished it if it didn't cover one of my Read Harder 2018 goals.

It is easy, as a voracious reader, to find this book mesmerising. A woman who shuns her family and societal norms to live her life surrounded by the books she loves? What’s not to like? I found the main character, Aaiyla, incredibly constructed. I read reviews saying that she is a rather depressing woman because of the way she shuts the world away, but I disagree with them. There are people out there who have the same type of personality, even if it seems hard to believe. I loved the setting so much, with Beirut coming to life magnificently. All in all, this book was a fantastic surprise.

This one's going to be a new favorite, I can tell.

I didn't actually finish this book. Had a hard time getting into it (long ago) and am just cleaning up my log now.

"It seems I’ve always asked, with Lear, 'Does any here know me?' but never 'Do I know any here?' Trying to know another human being seems to me as impossible, and as ridiculous, as trying to grasp a swallow’s shadow."

Beautiful novel about a Beiruti woman who lives through literature and her unpublished 50 years of translations. There are glimpses here of Lebanese history and sexual politics - she is ostracised as a divorced woman of a probably gay ex-husband. She refuses an epiphany though there is some light. Her life and lifestyle is alluring and repulsive at the same time so it's difficult not to quit a little troubled and I don't think the resolution is quite as promising or as affectionate at I would have liked.

I loved it. What a privilege to spend this time inside Aaliya's amazing head.

I cherish the very few smart, witty, multi-dimensional older women who I encounter in my reading. (Even moreso when the "elderly" woman turns out to be older than, say, 55). Aaliya is all of that, and as a bonus she's an independent, self-sufficient reading-obsessed introvert. What's not to love? The book gently unpacks her strengths, weaknesses, and self-deceptions without making me love her any less. And in addition, the writing is gorgeous, full of gems that deserve more attention than I gave them on a first reading, and the portrait of Beruit as a city and culture is fascinating. This one's definitely a keeper.