February 02, 2016

The Age of Reinvention - Karine Tuil


Atria Books, December 1, 2015.



Three Stars



Growing up as a Tunisian immigrant in Paris, Samir Tahar works hard to succeed despite his poor upbringing. He makes his way to law school, where he meets fellow student Samuel Baron, a Jewish man with a tragic past. They are inseparable friends, until Samir has an affair with Samuel’s girlfriend, Nina. When Nina chooses to stay with Samuel, Samir flees France, and starts a new life in America – using Samuel’s identity.


Samir comes looking for the American dream, yet he cannot get ahead as an Arab immigrant. When he shortens his name to Sam and people begin to assume he is Jewish, he does not correct them. With this recreation of himself, Sam becomes extremely wealthy and successful as a lawyer at a top law firm, with a beautiful wife and two children. Life is going along smoothly, until he is reunited with Samuel and Nina, and his true identity is exposed.


The story moves along in a rambling, stream-of-consciousness style, with no distinct voices. The writing is good, but there is no emotional investment in the characters. A finalist for the Prix Goncourt, this novel was originally published in 2013 in French, and it is very European in style. The subject matter is very relevant, with the Parisian setting and exploration of terrorism/anti-terrorism – as one official tells Samir, “[w]hen it comes to anti-terrorism, there are no rules anymore. They can do anything they want.” (Loc. 4002)


There are some interesting philosophical conversations, especially between the two men, Jewish and Muslim – debating over who is more persecuted. Samuel rejects his own history, yet he feels violated when Samir co-opts it. Ultimately their argument is over Nina, as a symbol of what they both desire – and they show us that love and heartbreak are the great equalizer of race and religion.


The characters are all fairly unlikeable – I don’t always mind that, but in this case, I felt like they were very secondary to the author’s political views. Samuel, Samir and Nina are each used as a vehicle to express ideas, but they don’t seem to have any real thoughts of their own. The characters are really secondary to what they represent: political tensions, racial profiling, and concealment of identity. This is a book of ideas, above all else, and they are more relevant than ever.


Ultimately, whether Muslim, Jewish, or otherwise, we are all constantly reinventing ourselves, it just depends on who is watching. Everyone thinks life would be easier if they were someone else, but it takes real strength to accept your own identity regardless of persecution. Samir reinvented his exterior image, but he was still the same inside – and when he embraces that self, he is truly redeemed.

I received this novel from Atria Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


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