The Wrong End of the Telescope is my first Alameddine novel and I wish I had read An Unnecessary Woman first to get more acquainted with his writing style. The Wrong End of the Telescope follows Mina, a Lebanese American trans woman, as she arrives on Lesbos island to assist international NGOs with the refugee crisis there. Intermingled with her experience there are snippets of other tales of refugees as well as Mina's own past. Overall, I felt that this was a noble effort to make readers more knowledgeable about and sympathetic for the refugee crisis, but the meandering narrative style skewed this message for me. Additionally, Alameddine not being a trans woman himself turned me off a bit.

This is a swirling, Sebald-esque narrative set in the refugee camps of Lesbos. The narrator is Mina, a doctor of Lebanese origin, volunteering at Lesbos, and the perspective shifts from her accounts of arrivals at Lesbos, their varying experiences and her personal experiences as well, of leaving Lebanon before the civil war, her estrangement from her parents on her transitioning. was Alameddine beautifully weaves in Greek myth, obviously ,from the setting, drawing analogies to modern-day wars and refugee crises There are two particularly beautiful chapters on Icarus as the first documented emigrant and his tragic end in the sea now named after him-a sea so many still cross , some to their peril, and a stunningly well-written chapter on the story of Arion and the dolphin. It's a deeply disturbing and moving book.
Alameddine is clearly trying to work through his feelings of guilt of being a privileged writer chronicling these people's stories of pain and trauma, and finding no way of handling that, decides to palm that off to the reader, and so you get multiple passages where various characters castigate the readers of the books as "privileged Chardonnay-swilling liberals who will forget this in a few minutes". Of course I'm privileged, most people reading the book are, but so is the author, and readers can equally accuse the author of worse, profiting off other people's pain. Also knocking off a star for the Madonna/whore dichotomy all the women characters fall into.

Moria, the camp on Lesbos that absorbed so many of the Syrian refugees is the setting for a complex web of narratives. I really enjoyed Mina-the main character- a lesbian transwoman doctor estranged from her family in Lebanon. She can't help but see her people in these refugees which forces a reckoning with her estrangment and it was just really well done

There are many issues addressed in this compelling novel, but at its heart is the refugee crisis, here exemplified by the infamous Moria camp on Lesbos. Mina is an Arab-American woman from Lebanon who arrives on the island at the behest of a doctor friend who asks for assistance. Mina is a surgeon and ably qualified to help with the humanitarian situation evolving on the island. The refugee experience is described so vividly and authentically. Mina is the perfect vehicle to voice the narrative as she too has been displaced and followed her own personal journey as a trans woman. She too has had to reinvent herself just as the refugees will have to. The author also addresses – with some acerbity – the motives of the volunteers, being particularly scathing about “selfie” volunteers, those who are simply virtue signalling and who are unbelievably crass at times. But at least they are doing something to help; we who simply sit at home feeling empathetic can’t afford to feel superior. It’s a multi-layered novel – war, refugees, family, identity, sexuality and gender, power and powerlessness, the interaction between east and west – oh, so much. And all capably integrated into a truly absorbing, well-written and well-paced novel that will long remain with me.

Here's another book that @NetGalley put on my radar that I wouldn't have read otherwise. The Wrong End of the Telescope is a story about a trans woman, who is also a Lebanese doctor of Syrian background, currently living in the United States with her wife (she's a lot of things), who travels to the Greek island of Lesbos to assist in the accommodation of Syrian refugees. Whilst there, her brother, who is the only person in her family who still speaks to her, joins her for a brief work based reunion.⁠
.⁠
As you can tell, this novel covers a lot of ground, discussing what it's like to be a refugee running away from the chaos of one's home, and focusing on one particular family in which the mother is dying of cancer but gathers her last bit of strength to ensure that her husband and children safely make it to the other side. It is also about the family history of the protagonist and her brother, their idyllic yet chaotic childhood, their erratic mother who runs away to Lebanon to get married but ends up feeling stuck, and all the emotions that arise out of the protagonist being excommunicated by her family and working to rebuild a connection with the one brother who reaches out after many years. In short, it's utterly beautiful and extremely enlightening.⁠
,⁠
,⁠
#bookstagram #bookrecommendation #RabihAlammedine

This is the first novel I’ve read by Rabih Alameddine. Struck by the cover and title, little did I know the beauty I was about to uncover. “The Wrong End of the Telescope” is about an Arab-American trans woman and doctor, Mina Simpson, who heads to the Island of Lesbos to provide medical aid to Syrian refugees. Her friend and fellow trans woman, Emma, is leading the charge at a volunteer site where countless refugees are fleeing to after Syria’s dissolution.

While major social and world issues of our time are all present in the book (the Syrian refugee crisis, the perception and treatment of LGBTQIA+ people, and more), what stuck out most to me in this book was how real all of the characters felt and how it really felt like you were there with them in each of these moments, conversations, situations. Alameddine’s words, by way of Mina’s character, showed so much real emotion and thought and help the reader to visualize what being at a refugee camp feels like, both for Mina and her friends and brother, as well as for the people they’re helping, particularly with a refugee by the name of Sumaiya and her family.

The style of writing almost feels like a compilation of short stories, the way it jumps from present to past to connect all the dots of Mina’s life and what’s led all of the characters to where they’re at now. It’s almost as if you’re reading old letters or diary entries, giving the feeling of being a part of the story itself, as if Mina is speaking directly to you. And yet, somehow and quite brilliantly, the narrative is incredibly cohesive and continues to move forward at a steady pace.

The only point of contention I had with the writing was I never quite understood who the “you” she was talking about is. Was it the Lebanese man she met on the plane on the way over? I was never quite sure. (Other reviewers seem to say that Mina is speaking to the author himself, Alameddine, when she starts speaking in second person to “you,” and if so, that concept was quite lost on me, unfortunately. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t know anything about the author before reading the book.)

Nevertheless, this novel was an absolute win for me. It is deeply moving, beautifully written, and one that could be revisited over and over again.

I learned a great deal about immigrants and their plight from Syria. The stories were interesting but the writing felt flat to me. The topics were very emotional but the writing was not. Overall an interesting book.

In a Nutshell: If you are a literary fiction fan, you can’t miss out on this one!

Story:
Mina, a surgeon in her fifties, a naturalised American of Lebanese-Syrian origin, a trans woman, a lesbian: this is the intriguing person in whose first person perspective you will hear this book.
Mina has arrived at the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos Island at the invitation of her friend, Emma, who runs an NGO there. After being alienated from most of her family except her brother because of her gender identity, Mina finds it overwhelming to be so near her original country after three decades. However, she seeks some kind of fulfilment while using her skills as a surgeon and a speaker of Arabic to help out those brave souls who have crossed the Aegean Sea at a high personal and financial cost in the hope of a better, safer future. “The Wrong End of the telescope” follows Mina’s experiences and ponderings in Lesbos Island.

The book is written in very short chapters, and as they are in first person, they feel more like reading someone’s journal entries. And just like journal entries, they cover a wide range of topics, both in the past and in the present. Mina muses over her struggles with her mother to accept Mina as a girl born in a boy’s body, her relationships and her thirty year old marriage with Francine, her relations with the rest of her family, her childhood, her interactions with the other volunteers and the refugees, especially with Sumaiya (a determined mother who is battling terminal cancer without wanting her family to know the extent of her illness), her opinion of some of the “humanitarian tourists” who were more interested in selfies than in actual help,... Every part of the writing goes straight to the heart. Some of the chapters are addressed to an unknown person. To my utter shame, it took me ages to figure out whom these chapters were addressed to. But once I did, the beauty of those chapters was enhanced even further by their poignancy and determination. Realising the secret person’s identity was a brilliant experience!

The chapter titles are innovative in form. They represent the content accurately without giving any clue of what's included in the content. That's exactly how chapter titles should be. I hate it when the title reveals what's going to come in that particular chapter. I also enjoyed how the author blended fact and fiction seamlessly into the narrative. The addition of the factual events created a deeper impact about the extent of the refugee crisis. I need to praise the level of the language as well. What an outstanding vocabulary! The precise word for the precise sentiment throughout! I relished this reading for the lexicon as much as for the content.

This is the story of a journey of self-realization and social awareness. It is queer in every sense of the word. It is a complex read because of the numerous rambling conversation-style chapters. It is slow because it is a literary fiction in the truest sense of the word. It is humorous. It is realistic. It is emotional. It is hard-hitting. It doesn’t shy back from tough discussions. It is…worth a read. But note that it can become quite intense and overwhelming. Read it on a strong day.

4.25 stars from me.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

When her friend calls her, Mina Simpson comes to Lesbos to help. The doctor can assist the refugees who land on the island not only physically but, since she is of Lebanese descent, she also speaks the language of the Syrians who risk their life to flee the war raging in their home country. For Mina, the Greek island is the closest she has been to her family for decades, as a trans woman, she never found her place there, only when she came to the USA could she live freely. With the first boat she sees lands the family of Sumaiya who first refuses to be examined by the doctor. But somehow, there is a spark of understanding between the two and Mina quickly understands why the other woman refuses any treatment: she knows already that she is terminally ill and the only thing she wanted to make sure was to bring her family to a save place.

“The Wrong End of the Telescope” is the third book I read of the author and again, he did not disappoint my high expectations even though it took me some time to figure out who the narrator is talking to. Just like in “An Unnecessary Woman”, we find a strong heroine who follows her ideas and yet is not totally stubborn and ignorant but sensitive to what her actions do to others. The plot centres around the refugee crisis which has been the top news for some years now and cleverly mixes fact and fiction by also integrating actual incidents.

Mina comes to the island with a clear aim: she wants to help. She is trained and thus qualified to do the work. Apart from her, there are many young people who have been attracted by the news, their situation is a bit different. Most of them arrived well-meaning, yet, taking photos of themselves helping and documenting the disastrous situation in the refugee camps seems to be their top priority, actually helping only comes second. Most of them seem to be unaware of their inadequate behaviour; the sensation seeking journalists, on the contrary, know exactly why they are there and that they prof from other people’s sufferance.

The protagonist differs strongly here, well, she differs from most people and her personal story is also not without traumatic experiences having grown up in the wrong body in a country where such a concept simply does not exist. She, like the refugees, knows what it means to lose home, to lose the people you love and to start anew in a different country, a different culture not knowing what the future might bring. She is well respected and her knowledge of both cultures allows her to critically comment on the flaws that both exhibit. As an outsider here and there, she is like an unrelated observer who thus can also highlight common traits members might not see.

Depending on the side of the telescope you use, you can get a closer or a more distant view of what you are looking at. Alameddine does both in his novel, on the one hand, he closely portrays the fate of one family, one mother, on the other hand, he also widens the frame of the refugee crisis. In addressing Mina’s narration to an unnamed and disillusioned writer, we also get both perspectives: looking at the world’s state on a wide you, you can simply despair, on the other hand, on a more personal level, there is still hope and so much good the single person can do.

Without a doubt, Rabih Alameddine is a wonderful narrator with a genius for integrating food for thought into brilliant narration.

Rabih Alameddine has done it again….
He created an unforgettable character….*Mina Simpson*…..[Fifty-ish, Harvard educated, married to a woman - disowned by her family- Arab-American-Transgender surgeon]….
Mina leaves her wife at home in Chicago while she travels back to her birth country —Lebanon - (and lGreece) — who came to volunteer at the refugee camp…..
…..as well as a second unforgettable grand oldster, character, Sumaiya—an uncompromising relentless woman with terminal liver cancer. [these two women bond together with a kept secret]…..
And….
Once again Alameddine deepens our understanding of Lebanese history > people trying to run-escape- from devastated war-scarred Syria.
Mina returns to Lesbos, Greece, after being away about thirty years. Not easy returning home with memories of being rejected by one’s family ….but old friend ‘begged’ for her to come help at the Moria refugee camp.

The storytelling is sooooo good —extraordinary as “An Unnecessary Woman”…. page turning absorbing ….(I wasn’t expecting it to be)….great surprise….
Filled with dire conditions for Syrian refugees forced to dismantle their shelters —(with multi-dimensional-colorful characters)…
As heart wrenching as it is — it’s written with richness, intimacy and an abundance of humanity

Alameddine was Longlisted for the National Book Award - for fiction - for his ‘wonderful’ book “An Unnecessary Woman”. …..HE DESERVES THE HONORS AGAIN.
This follow-up novel - “The Wrong End of the Telescope” is irresistible, educational, important, with stark, skillful entertaining reading elements.
Rabih Alameddine hasn’t lost in touch ‘at all’. His writing throbs with energy- its beautifully written - intelligent- thoughtful - complex - tragic and humorous….
I’m a forever fan of Rabih Alameddine….(ha, and even forgive him for the ‘one’ sentence that bothered me on page 195….a sentence I worked out - had many conversations about with my close friends)….
What a BEAUTIFUL MAN…..AUTHOR….and overall humanitarian!

Always….many thanks to Grove Atlantic!

The Wrong End of the Telescope is a heartfelt and passionate story about Mina Simpson’s journey, a Lebanese trans woman doctor, at the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos island, Greece. Staying only a week on Lesbos, Mina hopes to accomplish something meaningful by helping Sumaiya, a mother diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, and her family.

This novel is more than a humanitarian narrative about Syrian refugees and the conditions of migrants displacement. It is also about families coming back together after being pulled apart, race, gender, sexuality, and the quest for identity and belonging. Rabih Alameddine weaves a powerful plot filled with complex and endearing characters.

The Wrong End of the Telescope is a glimpse of hope and humanity in a crisis we became too used to hear about. I didn’t think I would love this book as much as I did. It was a surprising and captivating read. I highly encourage everyone to read this story as it touches on important and relevant topics and themes in such a poetic way.

On Rabih Alameddine's web page, The Wrong End of the Telescope is described as "a transporting new novel about an Arab American trans woman’s journey among Syrian refugees on Lesbos island." It's also a novel about much more: how families pull apart and come back together; end-of-life decision-making; "humanitarian tourism"; the complexity of the many stories of even the smallest group of people; how and why we choose to pull up roots and head into a new unknown; gender and sexuality; and how we learn who we are and who we love. In other words, this is a book about Everything—and I mean that in a good way.

Underlying this novel is the premise that Mina Simpson, the central character, is writing this book because a friend of hers, who is a well-known author, has found himself unable to write about the Syrian refugee crisis and urged her to take on this task. The novel is written as if Mina were talking to her writer friend, with broad use of second-person narration, and feels simultaneously a deeply personal document and a statement to the world. "You will remember when" sorts of references abound, but ultimately don't distance readers. Rather, these let the reader view the world from multiple perspectives.

This novel has me thinking about intersectionality, the interconnectedness of social categories such as race, class, and gender that create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Mina isn't just a trans woman: she's a lesbian, she's Lebanese, but has lived in the U.S. since being rejected by her family years ago, she's a physician, she's in a thirty-year committed relationship with Francine, a Haitian psychiatrist she met in med school. Intersectionality.

Pretty much every other major character in The Wrong End of the Telescope has a similarly complex identity. A friend who runs an NGO providing services to refugees, mostly Syrian, who come in overcrowded boats to the island of Lesbos, a gateway to life in Europe and to a life not overwhelmed by the ongoing impact of Syria's complex and violent civil war, has urged Mina to come work with these refugees. This friend is also a trans woman, but "straight." On the island, Mina is joined by her brother, the only member of her extended family still in contact with her. He has embraced the fact that the brother he was raised with has turned out to be a sister. He's divorced. His wife has custody of their children and has moved to Dubai. On the island this trio meet the writer, a gay man who is committed to documenting refugee lives, but who has come to Lesbos as a volunteer, not a writer, and is overwhelmed by the experience of working with these individuals without his literary identity allowing him to maintain an authorial distance.

The above paragraph packs in a lot of information. I include these many details because they illustrates the complex intersectionality in The Wrong End of the Telescope.

Added to this mix of characters are a Syrian family, part of the initial group of refugees Mina works with. The mother has terminal liver cancer, but has managed to travel this far with her family. Now, however, she's ready to end her life and for her family to go on without her.

In the hands of a less-skilled writer, this complexity could feel melodramatic. Alameddine keeps it down to earth, "normal" if you will. And the normality of all this complexity is what makes the book so remarkable. The Wrong End of the Telescope begins slowly, and the second-person narration is distancing at first, but the reader becomes fiercely engaged as the novel progresses. Ultimately, The Wrong End of the Telescope is a "must-read" that pays off in remarkable richness the effort the reader makes to enter the world of the book.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

A heart-wrenching and beautifully written novel about a doctor and Syrian refugees as they enter Greece. The writing, characters and presentation is spot on. So much to say about building empathy for “others”.

This was the first of Alameddine’s books that I have read, but I’m now so excited to read more!
I’m a particular fan of narrative non-fiction - that is non-fiction writing that really tells a story instead of just presenting facts. This book feels like the novel version of narrative non-fiction, and it’s fantastic.
From Mina to the selfie taking voluntourists who dart through the background, passing through every other character who appears, it really feels like we’re reading about real people with all their nuance and quirks.

How do people become persons to us, persons we can relate to rather than part of a group, labelled and boxed in? I think part of this 'seeing the person' comes from listening to their stories, because their stories, their needs, their feelings, their actions, strike a cord with us and make us relate and 'see' them.

Hence Alameddine's telescope gives us the stories from a refugee camp in Lesbos and we meet people who usually form part of a labelled group for us, doctors, boat people, refugees, NGO's. Through his lens they become persons and we can imagine the 'what if it was us'. And yes, I do not want to be in their position, because they are going through hell at the moment but yes it could easily be me. Alameddine even explores a bit the trauma of following these stories and becoming a witness because that too takes it's toll. I guess that is why it is so much easier to group people and label them and set them aside because then we would not have to explore and more over, 'do something'.



An ARC gently provided by author/publisher via Netgalley.