The Thirty Names of Night

A Novel

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published Nov. 3, 2020 by Atria Books.

ISBN:
978-1-9821-2149-5
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4 stars (3 reviews)

Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighborhood masjid, his estranged sister, and even his best friend (who also happens to be his longtime crush). The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria.

4 editions

Capitivatingly Written

4 stars

I thought the written and description were very strong and the magically realism elements worked well.

It took time for me to get invested in the story, but it accelerated toward the end. I wish a bit more had happened to the characters and the characters were a bit more distinct from each other.

I enjoyed the historical sections a bit more than the present one. It was interesting to read from the transmasc perspective, and I'd like to read more in the future.

avatar for daniel

rated it

3 stars
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rated it

5 stars