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An Unnecessary Woman
Published 26 February 2014
ISBN 9781922147233
Format Trade Paperback
Extent 320pp
AU Price $29.99
NZ Price $37.00

An Unnecessary Woman

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You could say I was thinking of other things when I shampooed my hair blue, and two glasses of red wine didn't help my concentration. Let me explain.
At the end of the year, before I begin a new project, I read the translation I've completed. I do final corrections (minor), set the pages in order, and place them in the box. This is part of the ritual, which includes imbibing two glasses of red wine.
Aaliya lives alone with her books—books she has collected over a lifetime, books she translates into Arabic with no likelihood that they will ever be read. With her accidental blue-dyed hair, her cantankerous dealings with her neighbours and her difficult relationship with her family, Aaliya is a character you will never forget.

An Unnecessary Woman is a sublime novel, a love letter to literature and its power to define who we are.
Published 26 February 2014
ISBN 9781922147233
Format Trade Paperback
Extent 320pp
AU Price $29.99
NZ Price $37.00

About the author

Rabih Alameddine

Rabih Alameddine is the author of the novels Koolaids, I, the Divine and The Hakawati, the story collection, The Perv, and An Unnecessary Woman. He divides his time between San Francisco and Beirut.
portrait photo of Rabih Alameddine

Praise for An Unnecessary Woman

'An Unnecessary Woman dramatises a wonderful mind at play…filled with intelligence, sharpness and strange memories and regrets…And over all this fiercely original act of creation is the sky of Beirut throwing down a light which is both comic and tragic, alert to its own history and to its mythology, guarding over human frailty and the idea of the written word with love and wit and understanding and a rare sort of wisdom.'

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Colm Toibin

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'Alameddine's storytelling is rich with a bookish humor that's accessible without being condescending...A gemlike and surprisingly lively study of an interior life.' Kirkus Reviews

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'Studded with quotations and succinct observations, this remarkable novel by Alameddine is a paean to fiction, poetry, and female friendship. Dip into it, make a reading list from it, or simply bask in its sharp, smart prose.' Booklist

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'Here is absolute beauty. One of the finest novels I've read in years. To explain why this book is so wonderful, and why Alameddine is so important, would take a book. Fortunately you have that very book in your hands.' Junot Diaz, on The Hakawati

PRH, PRH

'The Hakawati is astonishing: a triumph of storytelling. Lesser writers might write a book based on only one of the dozens of stories Alameddine delivers in just a few pages of this novel. There is a delightful cheekiness in telling so many tales all at the same time. It is a page-turner—not only because you want to find out what happens at the end, but because of the ever-flowing stories that take you forward. It is pure genius. I love this novel.'

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Aleksandar Hemon, author of Nowhere Man, on The Hakawati

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'The Hakawati is both genius and genie out of the ink bottle, a glorious, gorgeous masterpiece of pure storytelling and fable making... In spite of our horror, we're laughing uproariously, realizing that what is timeless about this story makes it very timely indeed. If you read stories to be entertained, read The Hakawati. If you enjoy stories of true love, read The Hakawati. If you prefer family sagas, read The Hakawati. If you like adventure tales, read The Hakawati. If you read to stay informed, read The Hakawati. If you read to escape, read The Hakawati. If you read only literary classics, read The Hakawati. If you love fables, watch the news first, then read The Hakawati. Rabih Alameddine is the Hakawati.' Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, on The Hakawati

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