Guapa: A Novel [B2078]

2016 PB in nice clean condition. A debut novel that tells the story of Rasa, a young gay man coming of age in the Middle East Set over the course of twenty-four hours, Guapa follows Rasa, a gay man living in an unnamed Arab country, as he tries to carve out a life for himself in the midst of political and social upheaval. Rasa spends his days translating for Western journalists and pining for the nights when he can sneak his lover, Taymour, into his room. One night Rasa's grandmother - the woman who raised him - catches them in bed together. The following day Rasa is consumed by the search for his best friend Maj, a fiery activist and drag queen star of the underground bar, Guapa, who has been arrested by the police. Ashamed to go home and face his grandmother, and reeling from the potential loss of the three most important people in his life, Rasa roams the city's slums and prisons, the lavish weddings of the country's elite, and the bars where outcasts and intellectuals drink to a long-lost revolution. Each new encounter leads him closer to confronting his own identity, as he revisits his childhood and probes the secrets that haunt his family. As Rasa confronts the simultaneous collapse of political hope and his closest personal relationships, he is forced to discover the roots of his alienation and try to re-emerge into a society that may never accept him.

From recent mixed Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "I want to read more books like this - queer coming of age stories from non-Western voices. Even though his book didn't totally come together for me, I liked the ambition of the book tackling sexuality, neo-colonialism, gender equity, religion and religious extremism."; "Hauntingly beautiful-once i was okay with being confused about the timing and when was the past and when was the present, it got better and I really really really enjoyed it"; "Could NOT put this down. So compelling. Loved the different perspectives on politically charged topics. Extremely relevant. Highly recommend."; "A deeply sad and reflective story about love, identity, and the cost of hiding who you are. Even though the setting is culturally very different from my own, so much of this resonated with me. It's one of the most authentic portrayals of the queer experience I've read. The constant tension between yearning and self-destruction felt painfully real and I really empathized with the protagonist for our shared lived experience."