Haunting, breathtaking and beautiful novel about a Queer Syrian American trans boy who isn't ready to come out.
the cover is also beautiful
i think this is a book that should be read by folks who want to understand other cultures

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that explores the themes of personal identity, family, and spirituality. The story follows a queer trans Syrian man as he navigates his place in the world and grapples with the events leading up to his mother's death. The novel is structured in a unique and almost spiritual way, which adds to its atmospheric and captivating nature.

The book is dense and thought-provoking, demanding attention and reflection from the reader. While it may not be for everyone, those who are willing to invest the time and effort will be richly rewarded. The themes of personal identity and family are particularly poignant, and the exploration of these themes through the lens of a queer trans Syrian man is both timely and important.

Overall, The Thirty Names of Night is a powerful and impactful work of literature. It is a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of representation in literature. While it may not be an easy read, it is a rewarding one that is well worth the effort.

3.5-4 stars

I used ChatGPT to help write this, but my main thoughts remain the foundation of the review.

This novel is a stunning artistic achievement; a lyrical, heartbreaking story of grief, love and loss that employs multiple narrators and other literary devices to tell its complicated story. There is more than one rare bird uncovered in this search for family and meaning, but no simple summing up will do this story justice. Read this book—it will open your heart to possibility.

the writing in this story is so beautiful that it kept me going through all the info dumping of birds and character introductions/backgrounds. i enjoyed it but it took some time to get through

This is a beautiful story. An epistolary novel that takes place in two different time periods. It's a story about love, both for oneself and family, and self-discovery.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book it has a stunnding cover and it was interesting

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an amazing plot, but I felt the characters were a bit hard to connect to.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Beautifully written story about Syrian immigrants in New York, both narrators struggling to find their place in the world, struggling with their sexuality/gender, both obsessed with birds and art. I liked the writing but there were so many characters each with their own stories and such an abundance of information about birds that it often distracted

Beautifully written story that desperately needed to be told yet falls emotionally flat at the moments it is trying to soar.

Thirty Names of Night is a multi-generational novel about a family of Syrian Americans struggling with their identities in New York City. Without giving too much away, the main character struggles with their identity while battling grief from the passing of their mother.

I was surprised by this book. It took me a while to get into it (in fact, I believe I received this e-galley over a year ago), but I ended up enjoying the stories. liked the alternating perspectives during the current time and the past. I enjoyed the connections between the characters throughout both timelines.

While I loved the content, I didn’t enjoy some of the writing. Most of it is poetic, but I found parts of the current timeline to be awkward, as the narrator is speaking in second person. They are writing the story to the ghost of their mother, which was interesting, but then there would be entire paragraphs where the narrator would tell her mother stories that her mother told her (yes, my sentence there is awkward, but that’s how the reflections felt).

Overall, 3.5 stars. Great content, highly recommend it, and push through the intermittently awkward writing for a great story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my second book by Joukhadar and I'll always pick up his books. I didn't think this story was particularly gripping, but it shone in moments and the writing is beautiful.

This was a genre ending beautifully written story that went a little too lyrical for my pedestrian taste. I think there was just a little too much going on here for me to be properly invested.

The Thirty Names of Night is an expansive and gorgeous story that encapsulates so many different forms of identity. It's beautifully queer and while I can't speak on the accuracy of trans rep, I found the trans characters in this story so gorgeously crafted and I loved following their various journeys. This book is told through Nadir's story as he claims his own identity as a trans man and Syrian American person taking care of his family and living through his mother's memory. Letters and diary entries from a Syrian artist named Laila are interspersed, full of representations of queer love that are heartbreaking to read. I found the whole book to be beautiful, poignant, and powerful. It gave me so much context for Syrian identity, and I adore it for its unflinching gaze on queerness in the changing New York City landscape.

Absolutely loved this book, knew I would which is why I hyped it up in my brain and didn’t read it until a year after it wa s published. WHY DID I DO THAT TO MYSELF? Luckily it hit at the perfect moment, when I am about to start t and weirdly having issues with my own IUD which was a subtle plot in this book as well. It was perfect.

I had originally downloaded this book early in March 2020, one of a handful that I had been looking forward to. Then during the initial shutdown, I was afraid to read them. What if they weren't as good as I was hoping? I didn't have the spoons to handle a poor reading experience.

I finally got around to this one, and I think there was some of that early pandemic fear that will always be wrapped up in this for me. So, while the book was beautifully written, my reading felt messy. There is a magical realism component in the birds congregating around NYC, but it doesn't seem like the characters really notice it, so this felt not-fully-incorporated.

As a person who only identifies with one of the minority groups (female) either of the main characters are a part of, I realize I am not the target audience for this novel. This novel is meant for queer POC and refugees, and those people will relate to it much better than I was able to.

That being said, even though the writing and the characters were absolutely beautiful, I wasn’t really able to connect to this book when it came to its themes of immigration, xenophobia, and queerness. These are crucially important topics for books, but just not something that I am personally able to understand first hand.

My favorite part of the book was is constant bird imagery and symbolism. I liked this style of lyrical writing, but I don’t think I really comprehended all of the metaphors. I’m not sure if I’m just stupid in this respect or the book is a little contrived in this way…

Overall I’d give this book 3-3.5 stars out of 5.

"Maybe it's true that the self is every artist's first obsession, that every other subject - a plate of oranges, a mountain, a lover's face - is just a recognition of the self in another form."

This book is page after page of juxtaposed beauty and harshness. It is a must read. I mean this wholeheartedly when I say The Thirty Names of Night sublimely captures the struggle with hidden and inner selves, which is often too abstract to put into words.

The story follows an unnamed transgender Syrian man as he grapples with his own body, and how that feeling of not belonging in your own skin conflicts with the expectations of being a woman in his community. Art and birds connect the unnamed main character, his deceased ornithologist mom, and the mysterious bird artist, Laila Z. Laila's diary provides the dual narrative of the novel, switching perspective every few chapters. She struggles with who she loves and how that love defines her role as an immigrant Syrian woman in love with a girl back home. Every character is deep, complex, beautifully built, and somehow connected to the birds - their ever-present shadows. There is so much representation in this book, from transgender men and women, to non-binary people, to people of color, to immigrants, to LGBTQIA+ people. I really value stories that feature such raw representation, especially when the story and writing is as beautifully crafted to the level that these characters deserve, and I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves too.

The parallel between humans to birds is spectacular and transcends culture while still capturing the essence of the main characters' heritage and identity. Birds are creatures of beauty and mystery, but they are also loyal and intelligent. Their otherworldly energy is inexplicably tied to the Earth. They lead us home without forcing us to put a label to that home - or to ourselves. Sometimes, there can be many homes, or none at all: "not all migrations end with a return home." The main character, mirrored by another person in Laila's life, finds a name to the feelings of being freed from a body with gender, a connection to his lost mother whose ghost follows him like the birds do, and the magic that only art can capture. The rare bird that the main character and Laila chase intertwines their story in such a captivating way; the ending makes every trial and tribulation worth it.

The writing in this book is genius and gorgeous, making the world come to life in such a magical yet tender way. Joukhadar is brilliant, that is all. The only comment I have that is remotely critical, is that the first third of the book is a bit slow with a lot of character building. This is paramount to the story, but it takes a bit for the plot to pick up. Please, please stay to see Laila's story come to life.

I want to end my review on this note: Nothing made me happier than seeing the main character's name next to the chapter heading after such a tough journey.

The Thirty Names of Night follows a Syrian-American trans boy in the Manhattan neighborhood of Little Syria, where his pursuit of painting has been stunted by the mysterious death of his mother. In his most free moments, he draws murals across town but ultimately avoids the cornerstones of home - namely, his masjid, his best friend from childhood, and even his sister. What begins as a life of avoidance turns lyrically adventurous when he finds the diary of Laila, a bird painter who disappeared years ago. The connections between Laila and his mother become apparent, and their mutual love for a rare bird species. Eventually, the connection deepens as Laila’s knowledge of trans people in the Syrian- American community becomes apparent. As he comes to learn of the existence of Syrian trans folk in America, our narrator’s loneliness transforms, allowing him to land on home.
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I picked this one up for many reasons - I wanted to read a slow burn historical fiction, I was interested in the integration of ornithology into the narrative, and wanted to read a novel from a Syrian-American perspective that stepped outside of gender binaries. The narrative was like molasses, deliciously slow yet indelible - I still think about this line from time to time “When they ask me where I’m from, they aren’t asking for the city of my birth certificate, but whose earth is in my blood.” I have yet to read a more apt description of refugee and diaspora identity.
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The novel is deeply steeped in bird imagery, which left me wondering why the Joukhadar may have chosen this theme - when we think of birds we often think of freedom, flight, journeys. But what about the intrinsic talent of birds to migrate far and return home, to pick up the sticks and meet their home where they are, to survive with their legs off the ground? Throughout my reading, I thought not of flight, but of a tender return.

The Thirty Names of Night

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This book is amazing! Initially I was intrigued by the characters and premise and I can honestly say that this book is truly amazing. The writing is really lyrical and poetic and it's an excellent read.