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The Angel of History
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
Set over the course of one night in the waiting room of a psych clinic, The Angel of History follows Yemeni-born poet Jacob as he revisits the events of his life, from his maternal upbringing in an Egyptian whorehouse to his adolescence under the aegis of his wealthy father and his life as a gay Arab man in San Francisco at the height of AIDS. Hovered over by the presence of alluring, sassy Satan who taunts Jacob to remember his painful past and dour, frigid Death who urges him to forget and give up on life, Jacob is also attended to by 14 saints. Set in Cairo and Beirut; Sana'a, Stockholm, and San Francisco; Alameddine gives us a charged philosophical portrait of a brilliant mind in crisis. This is a profound, philosophical and hilariously winning story of the war between memory and oblivion we wrestle with every day of our lives.
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rwmg
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Bailedbailed

A gay Yemeni living in San Francisco in the 1990s checks himself into a psychiatric clinic having lost too many friends and his lover to AIDS. In the meantime Satan is interviewing Death and the saints known as the Fourteen Holy Helpers about him.

I wanted to like this book and kept thinking it was on the verge of becoming something really good but a third of the way through I have to admit it's just not happening for me. DNF.

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rwmg
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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plemmdog
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Pickpick

My last completed read of 2022. Heartbreaking, humorous, and elegiac. Now I‘ve got to add Alameddine‘s new one to my TBR list. BTW, my aunt was a bit of an angel nut. Currently hanging out at my Southern Gothic homestead…Happy 2022!

marleed Cool pic and fun angel memories. … I have a friend with a massive angel collection. Years ago I gifted her 3 small ceramic angels that belonged to my mother, Bonnie. Bonnie spent 8 months in the hospital with cancer (I was 2) before succumbing. Apparently visitors would arrive with an angel - thus her collection. …My friend must cycle her angels on display, but the 3 Bonnie angels are always out. It makes me smile to see them so loved. 2y
plemmdog @marleed thanks for sharing. Similar story here (my dad, age 4) but my mom never cared for angels like my aunt did. They seemed really popular in the 90s, I feel like it was a pre-millennial thing. One of my favorite movies is Wings of Desire! Angels in black trench coats… 2y
marleed @plemmdog Haha. I think those of us who parented in the 90s may have scarred our children from nicnak collections. All those beanie babies! And let‘s not forget all the Disney VIDEOS that had to be purchased before the movie was put back in the ‘vault‘ for another 11 years. I knew a woman who bought 3 copies of each video as they were released - one per child and one for mom‘s own vault! Woops - technology! 2y
jlhammar Absolutely loved An Unnecessary Woman. Going to have to check this one out. 2y
15 likes4 comments
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Bertha_Mason
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Very late, here are my top seventeen books I read in 2017. I've been bothering everyone I meet to read The Angel of History (immediately one of my all-time top 5) since last January, so now it's y'all's turn. It destroyed me and rebuilt me better. READ IT.
#17in2017

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MiyakoBunny
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Mehso-so

What can I say😐except I wanted to like this book way more than I actually did😪, & I‘m honestly just glad I made it through it😶. I‘m not going to lie the author is obviously talented and his play on poetry & prose is brilliant, but 🤦🏻‍♀️the useless rambling and poor structure was just too much. There were really memorable & important parts to it, but alas it was vastly overshadowed by its countless pitfalls.

ValerieAndBooks Oh no! I‘ve liked his past books, sorry about this one. 6y
MiyakoBunny @ValerieAndBooks he has such great style though ❤️ so it wasn‘t an entire loss I‘m still going to give the other ones you mentioned a go 😊 6y
25 likes2 comments
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MiyakoBunny
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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My next read is a total #BlameLitsy 😅, but I‘m expecting many more to follow suit as my #BlameGoodreads TBR/Stack is seemingly just as endless😆

ValerieAndBooks Didn‘t realize (or maybe I somehow forgot?) he had a new book out! Stacking. I liked his An Unnecessary Woman and 6y
MiyakoBunny @ValerieAndBooks This is my first encounter w/the Author ☺️ but I‘m liking his style so far. Thanks for the titles I will definitely look into those as well much appreciated 🌸🌸🌸 6y
ValerieAndBooks I see in your profile that you‘re a sign language interpreter! Very cool, I‘m Deaf myself 😊 6y
MiyakoBunny @ValerieAndBooks Yes 🤗 Thank you 🌸 It‘s very nice to meet you 🌷🌷🌷 6y
13 likes1 stack add4 comments
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MrBook
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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#TBRtemptation post 8! Over the course of one night in a psych clinic waiting room, Yemeni-born poet Jacob will revisit his childhood in an Egyptian whorehouse, adolescence with his wealthy father, and life as a gay Arab in San Francisco. That night, he will be taunted by Satan, urged to die by Death, and attended by 14 saints. Profound, philosophical, and hilarious. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

MiyakoBunny 😳2 stack adds today ... I‘m sensing a pattern ... your hashtags ... 😱😱😱 the abyss the abyss 🌪🌪🌪 6y
teebe A title referencing Walter Benjamin? I must read this. 6y
50 likes6 stack adds2 comments
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sumaiyya.books
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Finally reading this novel! Alameddine's UNNECESSARY WOMAN is one of my favorite books ever, so I'm thrilled to be reading ANGEL OF HISTORY. Have you read this novel? I'm about 90 pages in - set during the AIDS epidemic of San Francisco, this novel is deep, philosophical and socially relevant so far. The prose is brilliant.

Reviewsbylola Your drink 😍😍😍 7y
55 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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MrBook
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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#TBRtemptation post! The latest from the award-winning Arab author. This book takes place over the course of one night in the waiting room of a psych clinic, the story follows Yemeni-born, Egyptian whorehouse-raised Jacob, a poet who finds himself as a gay Arab in San Francisco. Tainted by Satan & tempted by Death, he also has 14 saints to discuss things with. A deep & hilarious work, according to many. I'll give it go! #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Cinfhen Sounds great 👍🏻 7y
Chris That sounds awesome 7y
slhbooks Wow! Sounds like Jacob has quite a story to tell! Let's add it to the tbr 📚📚📚 7y
LitsyGoesPostal 😊👍🏻 7y
82 likes12 stack adds4 comments
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RobinGustafson
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Howling grief. The beauty of Alameddine's prose is stunning

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RobinGustafson
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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I first discovered Rabih Alameddine in Bookshop Santa Cruz when I picked up a copy of An Unnecessary Woman and loved it! On to his latest novel...

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HillaryCopsey
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Pickpick

Funny and heartbreaking, wholly engrossing.

4 likes3 stack adds
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HillaryCopsey
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Death, about to be interviewed by Satan, smells of history and formaldehyde.

I didn't expect this book to be amusing.

8 likes1 stack add
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Yossarian
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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http://lithub.com/literary-hubs-best-books-of-2016/

I hate being a "Book Fan." It's bad enough that I've only read about 5 of these books -- but my real frustration is the 10 or 12 I've never even heard of.

How can you be a fan of reading contemporary novels if someone's got a best-of list and you haven't even heard of a third of them?

Theresa You're doing better than me - although some are on my TBR, I haven't read any of these. And there are only a handful that I've heard of. But some look really interesting, thus my TBR stack has grown yet again. 7y
MicheleinPhilly I felt that way about the Tournament of Books longlist. Except that one has 120 on it! 😩 7y
Yossarian @MicheleinPhilly @theresa I feel like, when Oscar nominations come out, film buffs can say, "I've seen 7 out of these 10, and will make sure to see the other three before awards night." Even a moderate reader like me who finishes about a book a week has no chance. 7y
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MicheleinPhilly @Yossarian @Theresa There used to be a website where you could track what you had read from various lists - Best Of, Pulitzer, NBA winners. Every year the release of the IMPAC longlist would send me into near convulsions. 7y
Suet624 That's quite the list. Makes me feel like I've been hiding under a rock. 7y
Hussainq86 I read another book by the same author, "I, the Divine," an unforgettable read. If it's any consolation I haven't read a single book from that list -- I haven't been reading much lately, sadly. 7y
83 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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charl08
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Pickpick

Loved this dark look at a day in the life of a survivor of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in SF. If you like your novels full of references from everyone from Baudelaire to Nina Simone to Apocalypse Now, you might like this.

TheNextBook That is an amazing photo of Nina... 7y
charl08 She rocks. 7y
65 likes1 stack add2 comments
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charl08
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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snort.

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charl08
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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A moving account of the impact of grief - even years later.

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charl08
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine

There is a dignity in decay, Satan thought...

(great first line)

32 likes3 stack adds
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Arbol
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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"Satan remembers, because he's a bastard"- RA #wordstockpdx

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bookloversnevergotobedalone
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Too many books, So little time

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daviewheeler
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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"Robin is ideal because he was always being... rescued by Holy Rusted Metal Batman, Holy Buttfuck, Don't untie me yet, we have a few minutes..."

??????

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Genrebending
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Pickpick

This book hit all the right notes for me. It's as if Bulgakov grew up in the Middle East and wrote an LGBT novel. Required reading: dark yet funny, smart, high- and low-brow at once. This book is everything. Will reread once it's out in the fall.

tysephine I'm so excited for this!! I read and devoured his An Unnecessary Woman last year. 8y
46 likes7 stack adds1 comment
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Genrebending
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Training for @24in48 readathon next weekend! #everyweekendisreadathonweekend

Simona @Genrebending I'm curious about Bolshoi Confidential - Is it based on some serious research or is it more on the "light side"? 8y
Genrebending @Simona that's basically my motivation for reading it as well. We'll find out 8y
Suzze Every day is a Readathon day over here. 😜 8y
WordWaller Jealous of your Graywolf galley! 💖 8y
50 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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daviewheeler
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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How can you not know your history? I yelled over and over... how can you allow the world to forget us... the grand elision of queer history?

3 likes2 stack adds
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Robspillman
The Angel of History | Rabih Alameddine
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Whoa this is fierce.

BookishFeminist Nope, I'm not jealous at all. :) 8y
Kenny You read faster than me. I'm jealous. I'm still on Proxies. 8y
Sue Sounds awesome! 8y
32 likes11 stack adds3 comments