The Coin

I loved this book because it was different, completely different to anything that I had read before.
I am not going to say that I understood everything that the book was saying, but then again when do we ever understand anybody else completely.
I read the book within 24 hours of getting it, not quite in one sitting but almost.
The book is essentially about the triumphs, trials and tribulations of a young adult female who is of Palestinian heritage, living as a teacher in New York.
She has various hang-ups and lots of weird ideas (but who doesn't) and would appear to be searching for the meaning of life (who hasn't) and finds her truth her way.
The book was one of those rare books, for me anyway, that it is difficult to stop reading because of wanting to find what happens next.
If you like books that investigate the inner workings of a mind then this book is for you. Enjoy!
May thanks to the author for a stimulating, interesting read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The plot and the writing style of this truly blew me away. It is really rare to find a voice that is so unique. The narration really invites the reader into the very inner life of the protagonist as she makes some fascinating choices. The ending could have felt jarring and out of character but the fact that readers had developed a strong and intimate bond whereby every thought is shared meant that the final section made complete sense. I really enjoyed this!

An interesting and unnerving novel, and overall I really enjoyed it. It was an engaging exploration of the inner workings of our protagonist's mind and I really enjoyed the author's writing style. We are privy to a poignant and disturbing account of our main character's unravelling amidst consideration of a variety of pertinent themes and I found myself gripped. I would definitely recommend, particularly for fans of Mona Awad.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book will no doubt prove to be one of the most relevant poignant books of its time. It depicts the unravelling of a young Palestinian teacher in New York. Having left her home she seeks to find herself in a country where the women in her family have all failed. She is immediately torn between enlightening the boys in her 8th grade class or teaching the curriculum. There is a sense of unease as you are constantly on edge as to how far she will take it. The boys are from broken backgrounds, trying to navigate their own young lives.. Can they really understand the struggles of foreign war.
There are some wonderful if not disturbing recounts of her childhood and of land and homes being confiscated and given to Israeli settlers. We are told of the subsequent psychological breakdowns of those removed.
Zaher juxtaposes this with a sub plot whereby the narrator, who has a trust fund, embarks of a pyramid scheme involving luxury bags. Her partner is a homosexual man who is unable to fulfil her needs. A relationship which sees her further alienated and alone.
Her views towards those around her become ever existential until her sense of nothingness but nature becomes synonymous with her ability to function. albeit barely.
This book reminded me very much of Camus "The Stranger" and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you to Rachel Quin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

Yasmin Zaher's debut novel, The Coin, tells the story of a Palestinian woman living in New York. She has some unusual fixations, which create a very distinct person on the page. How much you love this novel will depend upon how happy you are being shown a person, warts and all, on the page. Zaher does not hide anything from us in her exploration of this soul.

The writing was at times electric, and I read through this in one sitting. It is a superb debut, and marks Zaher out as a name to watch. I am certainly very keen to see what she does next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC. This may very well be the best book I'll read this year. I thought it was INCREDIBLE. I rarely read debuts, but made an exception for this one due to the Zizek blurb. I thought this was so incredibly impressive - the voice, the storytelling, the themes, the strangeness. I would 100% teach this to students; there's so many fascinating things to analyse here. I hope this gets huge on TikTok!

I loved this book. The approved request came in at the perfect time as I have been wanting to read works by Palestinian authors. The story's protagonist is a Palestinian woman who moves to New York and through association ends up sourcing luxury Hermes Birkin bags in a con scheme alongside "Trenchcoat." She ultimately plays the role of a glamorous woman, enamoured by the fashion of European cities; when really she is deeply entangled in her feelings of grief from all she has seen and experienced. However, by the end of the story, she neglects this alongside the rest of civilisation and locks herself in her apartment; literally turning her back on the world. In doing so, she rejects expectation and America as a place, and reconnects with herself, her body and her past.
An exploration of female sexuality, identity and longing through notions of the uncanny and weird; stunningly captured in the narrator's explicit undoing.
I found the focus on the Western worlds desire for luxury, material items whilst other areas of the world is in disarray incredibly pertinent, especially in today's global climate.


(A BIG shiny 5 star read)

The Coin is a story about identity and self-discovery, that follows the unravelling of a Palestinian woman living in New York City. The main character is a woman of considerable wealth who takes a position teaching English to middle school boys in New York. She’s also obsessed with cleanliness, which she describes to the reader in great detail! It’s a bit of a dark read but one I found hard to put down!
A thought-provoking and immersive read, I think this will be a bit of a marmite read though!

The coin is an energetic and brazen novel that chronicles a few months in the life of a Palestinian woman who has emigrated to the USA. The woman, though benefiting from a wealthy trust fund allowance, accepts a job from a friend teaching English to middle school boys in New York City. What follows is a first-person picaresque and jarring account of her journey toward self-discovery and acceptance.

The main character is certainly under pressure. She addresses the reader directly giving a feel of intimacy and collusion. She describes to us a crippling cleaning regime in which she reviles then celebrates her body as it is freed from dirt. The narrative settles into an unsettling allegory of opposites. Belonging and statelessness, wealth and poverty, cleanliness and filth, self-awareness and self-loathing are among the themes. The complex layering of this woman’s New York life over her origins in Palestine creates a very relevant human exploration of the current geopolitical landscape. The eponymous coin is a childhood accident that exists both in her mind and her body. There are no absolutes in this novel, although amid the pain you will find the absolute joy of connecting with another.

The cast of characters are presented warts-and-all, flawed but likeable, and serve to pull the plot forward. There is a good bit of humour to balance the uncomfortable descent of a woman making bad choices. This is a bold work showing off superb storytelling. The author styles her canvas with hyper-realistic brushwork creating a Jenny Saville-type portrait. The result is a book that is at once beautiful, mad, humane, animal and unputdownable. The ultimate result is the empathic dread of taking pleasure in watching a car crash, but one choreographed by a gifted writer.

If you like to be pushed and pummelled by a story as I do, this is the book for you. Thanks to Footnote and NetGalleyUK for the eArc.

Oh I absolutely love a book that descends into madness and The Coin does not disappoint!

A wealthy young Palestinian woman decides to take a teaching job in New York to try and make it feel like home. Despite being from a rich family her inheritance is locked away by her brother so she makes do with a capsule wardrobe of beautiful clothes. Her approach to teaching is rather... unorthodox and she feels a desperate need to know more about her students.

When a new man enters her life she finds herself involved in a Birkin reselling scheme. America is getting her down and she's mostly looking for anything that will change up her life. The fact that he regards her as well dressed is a major factor in her participation truth be told.

This book is such an engrossing character study of this woman, she is not exactly likeable but she is compelling. The way she choses to conduct her relationships is fascinating and unpredictable. Her innate longing for her homeland manifests in increasingly manic ways and makes for such an original final act.

I cannot believe this is a debut! A book I think all the coolest people will (and should!) be reading this summer.

The Coin
By Yasmin Zaher

This book is dizzying, thrillingly subversive and utterly unique.

On the surface it's the story of the unraveling of a young woman but it's actually an allegorical wasps nest with themes of aesthetics, cleansing, exploitation, colonialism, wealth, class and race disparities, indoctrination, superficiality and cultural ignorance.

I am especially interested in the sensorial violence experienced by the narrator in the city she selects to live in following her departure from a city that is essentially being turned to rubble. Everything is dripping in tacit disdain.

My burning question throughout was who exactly the narrator is addressing. She breaks the fourth wall several times, but as her implicit accusations become more personal, it's clear it's not me, the reader, she is speaking to.

Stunning in it's imagery, audacious in it's probable meaning and exhilarating in it's potential, this is political parody at it's best. An Sean Bhean bhocht comes to mind.

If you loved " If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English" for it's themes, this will probably excite you.

Publication date: 11th July 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and #FootnotePress for the ARC

The Coin is unlike any other book I have read, unnerving, intrusive and addictive. Following the narrator (a wealthy young Palestinian woman) as she tries to build a new life for herself in New York, she slowly unravels as she tells us about her family, her inner thoughts and her relationships through her obsession with a coin she swallowed as a child.. At times she seems vulnerable and as if she is being taken advantage of, but then she seems to be fully aware of who the people in her life are and what she means to them.

This book is a conversation starter and I am sure we will hear more about it and Yasmin Zaher in 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The Coin.

I was incredibly excited when the publisher reached out to me to offer an ARC of The Coin. While The Coin is a genre I am only just dipping my toes into, contemporary realism with a dash of surrealism I suppose, I was hooked by the first page. I have to say I wasn’t sure fully what to expect other than knowing that the narrative was about a Palestinian woman moving to New York City. Then again I often enjoy going into a book blind.

What I will say is I instantly loved the writing. It’s almost stream of consciousness which I think worked perfectly for the novel. I found myself instantly invested in the character and her journey. Now, this style of writing might not be for everyone but I certainly loved it and thought it was done perfectly.

The more I read, the more invested I got. The coin is the perfect blend of exploring identity, class, society, community, sexuality and so much more. While covering a lot of hard hitting subjects Zaher manages to interweave a voice that is both empathetic, human and at times humours.

The Coin may not be for everyone but I most certainly loved every second of reading this. From the writing, the character and plot. Zaher weaved a wonderful tale that once you open the first page will keep you hooked till the end.

A brilliant debut a book that was so unique so well written a character that had me in her dizzying grip from the first pages.This will be among my years top ten .The best type of novel one that stays with you long after you’ve read it. #netgalley#thecoin.