The Parisian

“That this should be the debut of a writer in her twenties seems impossible,” writes author Zadie Smith. Midhat Kamal is the son of a wealthy Damascus silk merchant, who has hopes for his son to become a doctor. On a ship to Paris, Midhat’s transformation into “the Parisian” his family boast of begins, and so his life starts to unravel as “sophistication” takes its toll. Hosted by Frederic Molineu, anthropologist at the University of Montpelier, where he studies, Midhat falls for his daughter, Jeannette. They have much in common – both lost their mothers young; Midhat’s from tuberculosis, Jeannette’s shot herself. At first he will drink only cordial, then alcohol lets loose his tongue – spouting jealously that Jeanette may love Laurent, his friend. Hammad’s language is so finely tuned – the “hip” of a piano, whiskey “trembling” in a glass. Of losing his mother so young, “She was there when I was not. She wasn’t there when I was.” Fainting at the sight of his first cadaver, Midhat is not cut out to be a doctor and returns home to follow his father’s trade. Jeannette shall try to contact him, but his father hides her letter. He marries a local girl, Fatima. A modern classic.