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The Coin
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
6 posts | 7 read | 5 to read
A bold and unabashed novel about a young Palestinian woman's unraveling, far from home, as she gets caught up in a scheme reselling Birkin bags The Coin follows a Palestinian woman as she pursues a dream that generations of her family have failed at: to live and thrive in America. She teaches at a school for underprivileged boys in New York, where her eccentric methods cross conventional boundaries. She befriends a homeless swindler and the two participate in a pyramid scheme reselling Birkin bags, the value of which "increases, year by year, regardless of poverty, of war, of famine." The juxtaposition of luxury and the abject engulfs her as she is able to con her way to bag after bag, preoccupied by the suffering she knows of the world. Eventually, her body and mind go to war. America is stifling herher willfulness, her sexuality, her ideology. In an attempt to regain control, she becomes preoccupied with purity, cleanliness and self-image, all while drawing her students into her obsessions. In an unforgettable denouement, her childhood memories converge with her feelings of existential statelessness, and the narrator unravels spectacularly. Enthralling, sensory, and uncanny, The Coin explores materiality, nature and civilization, class, homelessness, sexuality, beautyand how oppression and inherited trauma manifest in every area of our livesall while resisting easy moralizing. Provocative and original, humorous and inviting, The Coin marks the arrival of a major new literary voice.
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review
Amor4Libros
Amor4Libros
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
post image
Bailedbailed

You know how sometimes you‘re reading a book and thinking: Is this a waste of my time? Well, this felt like it. I just couldn‘t get where this story was going…And don‘t get me wrong, I don‘t mind reading about a character‘s day to day, but this just felt like it was leading nowhere.

Bailed at 25%

ChaoticMissAdventures Such a bummer. I had high hopes for this, but people are not enjoying it. I have it out from the library now, so I might try a chapter or two, but it is not looking good! 1w
dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌🏻 #betterbooksahead 7d
IMASLOWREADER love the power of DNF 7d
squirrelbrain You‘re right to bail - it didn‘t go anywhere and got considerably weirder as it went along. 7d
Amor4Libros @squirrelbrain Glad I went with my gut instinct! 6d
56 likes5 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
Hooked_on_books
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
post image
Panpan

I suspected this would not be for me and indeed it was not. It occasionally felt like it was going to veer close to an understandable metaphor, but instead of getting there would then throw in a deliberately provocative sexual statement and I‘m never a fan of that, as I don‘t think it informs the story. #TOBlonglist

Leftcoastzen I was curious about this one , but lots of “so-so”& pan reviews (edited) 2mo
Hooked_on_books @Leftcoastzen There are people out there who love it, so I say grab it from your library and give it a go if you‘re curious. You never know! 2mo
57 likes2 comments
review
squirrelbrain
squirrelbrain
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
post image
Mehso-so

I‘m not really sure I understood this at all. 🤷‍♀️ A wealthy young Palestinian woman arrives in NYC to teach, and slowly starts to unravel, teaching in a very unconventional manner and getting involved in a Birkin bag scam.

She also has a cleaning obsession, and hang-ups with her body, and the final 25% gets *really* weird.

I‘m sure there metaphors / allegories aplenty, but I couldn‘t grasp any of them to make much sense of it.

#ToBlonglist

julieclair Well, this one sounds interesting, to say the least! Great review. 3mo
Ruthiella Often I am drawn to these kinds of narratives in that they can demonstrate the impossible standards that can be placed on women… but it‘s sounds like maybe this one didn‘t have that aim or arc. 3mo
TrishB I love the way you still finished and gave it a so-so. Great review. 3mo
See All 9 Comments
squirrelbrain @julieclair - other reviewers have compared the book to Ossfegh and Broder, if you like those authors. I haven‘t read either author (yet!), so couldn‘t comment. 3mo
squirrelbrain I think it did have that arc in there, but muddled up with others - too many messages I think. @Ruthiella 3mo
squirrelbrain You know me @TrishB - still learning how to bail! And it‘s ON A LIST (ToB) so even more reason to finish and tick a box. 🤪 3mo
Oryx Another one I was considering but will give a miss..I have to say, you are providing a very useful service here 💜😂 3mo
squirrelbrain I‘m not usually the one *stopping* people from reading books - usually the opposite! 🤪 @Oryx 3mo
Oryx @squirrelbrain on balance, I've definitely read more on your recommendation than the other way. 3mo
64 likes1 stack add9 comments
review
Floresj
Floresj
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
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Mehso-so

This book is so different and creative that the synopsis actually works against what this one is. A woman unravels, ravels back in her own way, and I have no idea what it means. So, that makes it intriguing enough to suggest it.

8 likes
blurb
vlwelser
vlwelser
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
post image

Acquired a new treasure. This store in Newburyport MA isn't in the database.

28 likes1 stack add
review
everlocalwest
everlocalwest
The Coin: A Novel | Yasmin Zaher
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Mehso-so

As unhinged as everyone says it is. More Broder than Moshfegh in my mind. I probably would have DNF'd this, but the chapters are just so short and I needed to know where we would end up.

Anna40 And? Was it worth waiting for the end? 8mo
everlocalwest @anna40 I'm not sure! I'm still thinking about it, so I guess? The novel is a descent into madness but the commentary is ultimately that we exist in the madness. It's a modern catch-22. If you're fine, you're clearly mad but if you're crazy, you're actually having a normal response. And that I like - the despair of the modern condition. But there was a disconnect that didn't work for me. There's a core of callousness that didn't resonate. 7mo
19 likes2 comments