The Unexpected Love Objects of Dunya Noor

by Rana Haddad

Aspiring photographer Dunya Noor discovers early on that her curious spirit, rebellious nature, and very curly hair are a recipe for disaster in 1980s Syria. And at the tender age of thirteen, she is exiled to live with her grandparents in England. Many years later in London, she meets Hilal, the son of a humble tailor from Aleppo and no match for Dunya, daughter of a famous heart surgeon. But, dreamy, restless Dunya falls in love with Hilal and they decide to return to Syria together, embarking on a journey that will change them both forever. Rana Haddad’s vivid and satirical debut novel captures the essence of life under the Assad dictatorship, in all its rigid absurdity, with humor and an unexpected playfulness.

Genres: Fiction, Middle East

248 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2018

Reviews

[belisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

kuzey ülkelerinin anlatıcılarının dilinde buzun parlaması gibi, Arap ülkelerinin iyi anlatıcıları da masallar gibi konuşuyorlar...

aşk hakkında çok güzel bir anlatıydı

BUNDAN SONRA BİRAZ SPOILER VAR


Kitap Suriye'de Hafız Esad zamanında geçiyor. Burada bahsetmeden geçemeyeceğim şey şu, kitabın başlarında fes konusu geçiyor ve Türkiye'de Mustafa Kemal'in fesi yasaklaması konusunda biraz sitemle ince bir cümle kuruluyor, şapka giymeye zorlanan insanların kendilerini saklamak zorunda bırakıldıklarına dair.

Ancak kitabın sonunda masallar gibi bahsettiği ülkesindeki insanlar kurtulmak ve özgür olmak için İstanbul'a kaçıyorlar, hem de maaile, diğer komşularına değil de Türkiye'ye kaçıyorlar, fesi yasaklayan adam sayesinde kaçabilecekleri bir ülke oluyor.

Ne güzel bir ironi değil mi?

[Hulyacln · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘Bu kitaptaki olaylar, Hafız Esad (Beşar’ın babası) adında anormal derecede büyük bir kafası olan bıyıklı bir askeri diktatörün Suriye’yi yönettiği geçen yüzyılın son döneminde geçiyor.’
.
Böyle başlıyor Dünya Noor’un hikayesi.
İngiliz bir anne ve Suriyeli bir babanın kızı olan Dünya’nın herkesin bir efsane gibi anlattığı aşk ile tanışmasının hikayesi.
Tabii başlangıca bakarak çok daha siyasi ve tarihi göndermelerin bizi beklediğini düşünüyoruz. Ama pek de öyle olmuyor.
Birkaç detay ve bölüm haricinde tamamen bireysel ilişkilere odaklanıyor yazar Rana Haddad.
Dünya ve Hilal’i dinliyoruz.
Ailelerini öğreniyoruz. Ancak öyle yüzeyde kaldı ki bunlar benim için, hiçbir karakter ile bağ kuramadım. Evet aşk güzel, büyülü. Sonrası? Zengin kız- fakir oğlan klişesini sıklıkla andığım bir kurguya döndü çoğunlukla. Kitabın arka kapak yazısında da değinildiği gibi Yeşilçam misali~
Dünya’nın asiliği havada kalıyor, Hilal’in gökbilim tutkusu da öyle.
Rastlantılar ve seçilen karakter isimleri de (anlamlı olmasına rağmen) zorlama hissi uyandırıyor. Güzel ama kendiliğinden değil; yapay bir güzelliğin varlığından rahatsızdım kitap boyunca.
Sözün özü iç savaş öncesinin arka planda olduğu, yine farklılıklar beslenen ama daha derinlikli bir kurgu isterdim.
Her şeye rağmen kitabı okuyunca Suriye Edebiyatı’nı daha yakından tanımak istedim. Bu yüzden okuduğum için memnunum Dünya Noor’un Beklenmedik Aşk Nesneleri’ni ~
.
Duygu Alçul çevirisiyle ~

[Layla · Rating 2 out of 5]

too much telling. the characters didn't seem real or vivid. it read too much like a fable.

[Emonmiahh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Unexpected Love Objects Of Dunya Noor by Rana Haddad

Book Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is so rhythmically poetic and alluringly charming! Rana has a true gift of capturing your heart with mere words. I’ve even started this review with a poetic air haha. I loved the main character Dunya Noor. Her inquisitiveness and adoration for the simple things that she finds, paired with her One True Love and her enormous courage as a WOMAN in deeply entrenched anti feminist Syria; it was astounding!

A great book to explore life for women, South Asian LGBTQIA+ in the Arab world back then in the 1980s and to be honest, this day and age. How do I put this into words without spoiling it? How one person could change faces and experience two different worlds and cultural possibilities. How love can look different in any part of the world. Dunya really stole my heart in this book, and dare I say, she can keep it!

I can’t lie, I went into this book with zero% of what it was about, and all I can say is that I need to do blind book reads more often! I saw an Asian named author and just jumped straight into it, and thankfully this time, I had zero regrets. Great book and great characters whilst also diving into 80’s Syria.

Here is an excerpt from the book that literally sums up basically, as to what the book is about:
“Two decades or so ago in the old city of Aleppo, a boy astronomer whose parents hid the truth from him behind a veil of sadness and a girl with a beautiful voice, which she was forced to hide behind a wall of silence, were growing up only a few kilometres apart, each with a hole in their heart, not knowing in what shape or form the truth would come. Never did it occur to either of them that the truth would come in the shape of a girl whose name was Dunya. And whose fate it was both to bring them together–and to divide them.” - Page 200

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, both for its absorbing story of personal quest for love and identity, and the picture it paints of Syria. Torn between her Syrian birthright and her English upbringing, Dunya’s delightful and quirky take on life and her rebellion against the strictures of a patriarchal society is told through a mix of sympathy and satire. The first love object is her camera, and this serves as a clever device for Dunya’s observations and perceptions of the worlds she inhabits, but also as a metaphor for insight and obscurity, as shadows and darkness suggest unknowable parts of the human subject, and of place. The characters are engrossing, especially that of Dunya, whose portrayal is part humorous, part serious, while those who become central to her quest are enigmatic and intriguing. Places, too, take on a character of their own, and the portraits of modern-day Latakia and the ancient city of Aleppo evoke all the textures of the cities: Dunya’s profound moment of recognizing her home of Latakia, together with its tv aerials sticking out of buildings ‘like unkempt hair’ and its lively market street cries, nestled within the wide circumference of the sea; then her discovery of the close labyrinth of alleyways and the colourful souks and café-bars of Aleppo as she pursues her love, weaving through the traffic of boy-carrying donkeys and motorbikes, produces a revelation of layers of history and a part of Syria unknown to her. Through them, the author gives the reader an insider view of a native’s love for her country, though told with a critical eye for its absurdities and with a lightness of touch in keeping with the tender and humorous style of the narrative: the young men mustachioed in deference to the country’s self-publicist leader is a witty and amusing idea, while also subtly indicating the rising threat of military dictatorship. Set prior to the civil war, the novel offers an enlightening view of a nation’s politics and a reminder of the life of a country that has been sacrificed, when the news media accustoms us to scenes of devastation. And I found the story of Dunya's journey very moving, both on a naturalistic level (the meshing and clash of cultures through the dual settings of England and Syria reflecting Dunya’s own self-division, as well as foreshadowing political division of Syria itself) but also through the mythical and metaphorical strands – the study of the faces of the moon, the oud (an ancient lute), the tailors of Aleppo, are just some examples of the novel’s richly evocative imagery. The narrative develops in such a way that the quest for love might represent different parts of the self and the self made whole in a kind of Platonic myth of love and purity, but also suggesting deeper channels of sexuality. And as the quest becomes an actual pursuit through those narrow Aleppo alleyways, with further obstacles of doublings and disguise, the suspense makes the novel difficult to put down. Ms Haddad has written a distinctive and original work, and found an authentic voice in which to tell her story.

[Alhakam Shaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely enjoyed reading The Unexpected Love Objects of Dunya Noor! The book deserves more fame! Its magical realism felt like a loud cry that opened my eyes to how much fiction can do in a context like Syria, whose limitations we grew up to accept as absolute. Rana Haddad’s book unexpectedly unleashed beauty that those familiar with Syria knew existed but haven’t seen it described.

[Lyazzat · Rating 5 out of 5]

using some thoughts from the book which caught my attention for wider thinking:

" Her school friends' attention seemed to be focused - laser beam like - on the intricate and intimate personal lives of the Higher Beings who peopled TV soap operas and the worlds of pop and rock. To someone from a softer and warmer culture like Syria's it seems incomprehensible that being hard and "rock-like was desirable asset in England and that being "cool" was considered such a must-have quality for social and even romantic success. England's view of the world was upside down, and the qualities she'd been brought up to cherish were equated here on the British Isles with weakness".

Another valid thought: "Fall in love? What are you talking about? Marriage is not about falling in love, child. A sensible girl does not look for such things. No good marriage has ever been built on falling in love."

The simple story of two sweethearts and some differences in cultural barriers. Hence, there a little bit more than that as prefer not to spoil the reading.

[Olympia Zographos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that reads like a modern classic by a French or Chinese novelist, someone like Marguerite Duras or Eileen Chang who knows how to draw you in with their crystal clear writing. The story has a flowing, shining quality to it. It’s not a book you read for the plot and characters and then never read again. You read it for the perceptions too. Think of it as a sailboat made of words. You’ll come back to it, sample your favourite bits and bits you’d forgotten about and wish more novels were like this.

[Nektaria Anastasiadou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with intelligent humour, The Unexpected Love Objects of Dunya Noor will take you on a romantic adventure to Latakia and Aleppo, Syria in the 1990s. An excellent choice for literary travel.

[Joana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not easy for me to rate this since it's a very different style from what I usually read. The language is a lot more poetic and sometimes things are told in very simple terms that almost make it seem like a fable or a fairy tale. The beginning was not very strong, with the characters sounding like caricatures and acting a bit foolishly. We even get the english mother of the main character talking and acting as if she was a Syrian mother in parts. I wanted to learn more about Syria's history and regime but I was getting a sitcom of a girl who falls in love with an ineligible boy. Fortunately the plot takes a turn towards the middle and that's when we find what the unexpected love objects of Dunya really are (it's a clever title). There are some beautiful moments in the book but I wasn't completely won over.

[Fn. · Rating 1 out of 5]

🤮Gross. Truly “the unexpected love objects of Dunya”. I just finished reading this trainwreck and I’m still trying to pick up the pieces of my sanity. Total garbage. The author clearly has a PhD in Syria-bashing, specializing in every negative aspect of Syria and its culture and people (dictatorship not included). What a coincidence. It’s not like the author has a giant chip on their shoulder about Islam and Muslims or anything. And let’s not forget the plot twist based on homosexuality - Dunya’s got feelings for her lover’s sister? How original. She loves them both and gets physical with both? Eww, ugh, double eww. Worthy of a bonfire, not a bookshelf. Cancel this author, she clearly has a few screws loose!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

CN: deaths of parents, adoption, kidnapping, military dictatorship

That was so good I haven't put it down all day!

It made me desperately want to go to the Aleppo it describes. And so sad that it was upended by the civil war.

I definitely think my parents would have fitted in better there, I absolutely related to Dunya's frustration with hers, even if I didn't grow up in a wider culture that validated their ideas.

It's tense, and funny, and clever, and never seems ridiculous no matter how implausible the plot would seem if you were to describe it someone. It's magical realism at its best.

[Uninvited]

The adversities and obstacles a person encounters when trying to express themselves or when falling in love in an unfree society. I loved this book, and found it a pretty sad portrayal of harsh realities that sadly still exist, especially in countries like Syria, where the story takes place, but also, in a smaller scale, even in more free, western societies. The thought running through my mind as I was reaching the last page was that I hope I live long enough to witness the day where such miserable collective mentalities have been wiped out, and not a single person is forced to answer for their choices in love and expression.

[Yasmena Aladham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the military academy library, hoping it would be a good company during the hard time I'm experiencing there. From the start of the novel and its short description, I expected to read a " realistic story " about dictatorship, men's masculinity, and Gender inequality in Syria, but it turned out into a childish and unrealistic story with too many details stuffing it with absurd homosexual events and illogical characters

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very odd book, although well written. The beginning felt rather drawn out and then it all ended rather quickly. How did she and Suha fall in love so fast? How did Suha come to like Hilal again?

Also, it felt like the setting and the context of the story could’ve been used to highlight important themes and make much more salient points (about dictatorships, gender roles, homosexuality?).

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book in a bookshop in Athens, as it was one of the few novels in English. Once I began reading it, I fell in love. Lyrical, absurdist, feminist and classical, the familiar story of star-crossed lovers against the backdrop of Assad’s Syria in the 90s warmed my cold, cynical heart.

[Karine Leno ANCELLIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the way the author takes you to think what will unfold, and shows you your assumptions have gone the wrong way.... as often they so do....incongruous and thank you for giving some humanity to a place where the war/media have ruined it though it carries on loving, as I do.

[Lolaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the dreamy writing and atmosphere, very magical sometimes. I also loved the references to Syrian/Arabic poets, singers and oud players, and food and way of living.

[lkh0ja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dreamy love story.

[Katrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out as a romantic love story in war torn Syria and then proceeded to do a total 180! I was so surprised and the writing was very evocative - a really nice experience!

[Nour · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely beautiful read. There were moments of laughter and moments of intense loathing for corrupt leadership that ruined a country and it’s people.

[Maria Calinescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

cheesy - but great in its descriptions of Syria

[Safy magdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

الرواية حلوة جدا وأسلوب الكاتبة يجنن ووصفها لحلب واللاذقية والمجتمع السوري نقلني هناك وتتابع الأحداث مدهش. كان بودي أخلي التقييم خمس نجوم لولا اعتراضي على شوية الشذوذ اللي في النص

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is fun and exciting, I liked the pace and the people. But it feels overly simplictic and naive, in an infuriative way.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending wasn't my favourite but it was otherwise a really fun read.

[Eftychia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars