Review: Aria Aber's debut novel ‘Good Girl' marks her as a writer to watch
JEDDAH: In her debut novel 'Good Girl,' German-born poet Aria Aber writes a raw tableau of contemporary German society, plunging readers into post-9/11 psyche through the eyes of Nila, a 19-year-old Afghan German girl.
For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle
As Nila stumbles through Berlin's underground techno scene, the city emerges as a character that, like her, is fractured and being forged anew. Berlin seems to be in the throes of struggling to reinvent itself amidst rising Islamophobia and neo-Nazi violence, while Nila's quest for selfhood emerges in her rebellion against the suffocating expectations imposed on Afghan girls and the identity crisis born out of living in a society that seems suspicious of her presence.
It's a tale as old as the human desire for movement and refuge: Nila is too Afghan for German society, and too German for the Afghan community, with both watching her every move. Aber's raw and fragmented narrative style mirrors her character's splintered identity while capturing her 'violent desire' to live and her aching need to belong and to be accepted as she is.
Though the novel occasionally stumbles with uneven pacing and moments that may seem repetitive or overwritten, what sets it apart is the author's refusal to sanitize or sermonize. Nila's messy, unconventional path to self-discovery remains unapologetically hers.
The emotional core of the novel lies in the tension between expectations placed on girls and the honor-based abuse that simmers beneath. Nila's parents, progressive by diaspora standards, permit her artistic pursuits and eschew strict traditions. Yet their insistence on a 'good girl' image still carries an undercurrent of control that constrains her freedom.
Ultimately, 'Good Girl' is a young woman's howl against a world that demands she shrink, marking Aber as a writer to watch.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Neo-Nazis attack actors in Lisbon, marring Portugal Day celebrations
A group of neo-Nazis attacked several actors outside a Lisbon theatre late on Tuesday, forcing it to cancel a show about Portugal's national poet Luis de Camoes to mark Portugal Day, which commemorates the literary icon. The European Union has said hate speech is on the rise in Portugal, and the far-right is gaining support after anti-immigration party Chega became the main opposition in parliament in last month's election. Culture Minister Margarida Balseiro Lopes condemned on Wednesday what she called a 'cowardly attack ... on freedom of expression, on the right to creativity, on the democratic values that define us as a country.' Police said they had detained one person after Tuesday evening's scuffle near the Barraca theatre in downtown Lisbon. Actor Aderito Lopes, who performs the role of the 16th century one-eyed poet in a play titled 'Love Is A Flame That Burns Unseen,' had to be hospitalized with face injuries. According to the play's director Maria do Ceu Guerra, the group of about 30 neo-Nazis had been returning from a rally with signs and leaflets that read 'Portugal for Portuguese.' They initially verbally assaulted an actress who was wearing a T-shirt picturing a star associated with the political left and then attacked two male actors. The attack came on the 30th anniversary of the killing of a young Black man, Alcindo Monteiro, in Lisbon by skinheads, similarly after Portugal Day commemorations. 'Thirty years on, this country has not found a way to defend itself from the Nazis,' Guerra said in televised remarks. Under the fascist regime of Antonio Salazar, which ruled the country for four decades until 1974, Portugal Day became known as Portuguese Race Day. Ultra-right movements have been marking it with mainly small-scale rallies for years. Following Tuesday's attack, left-wing political parties accused Prime Minister Luis Montenegro's center-right government of failing to take action against far-right groups. 'The neo-fascists are attacking books, the theatre and those involved in culture. They do it because they think they can,' Left Bloc lawmaker Mariana Mortagua wrote on X. In her statement, Culture Minister Balseiro Lopes said: 'Culture is not intimidated ... And it does not accept hatred disguised as political discourse.' In April, far-right groups provoked clashes in downtown Lisbon, marring celebrations of the 51st anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which ended the dictatorship.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Review: Aria Aber's debut novel ‘Good Girl' marks her as a writer to watch
JEDDAH: In her debut novel 'Good Girl,' German-born poet Aria Aber writes a raw tableau of contemporary German society, plunging readers into post-9/11 psyche through the eyes of Nila, a 19-year-old Afghan German girl. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ As Nila stumbles through Berlin's underground techno scene, the city emerges as a character that, like her, is fractured and being forged anew. Berlin seems to be in the throes of struggling to reinvent itself amidst rising Islamophobia and neo-Nazi violence, while Nila's quest for selfhood emerges in her rebellion against the suffocating expectations imposed on Afghan girls and the identity crisis born out of living in a society that seems suspicious of her presence. It's a tale as old as the human desire for movement and refuge: Nila is too Afghan for German society, and too German for the Afghan community, with both watching her every move. Aber's raw and fragmented narrative style mirrors her character's splintered identity while capturing her 'violent desire' to live and her aching need to belong and to be accepted as she is. Though the novel occasionally stumbles with uneven pacing and moments that may seem repetitive or overwritten, what sets it apart is the author's refusal to sanitize or sermonize. Nila's messy, unconventional path to self-discovery remains unapologetically hers. The emotional core of the novel lies in the tension between expectations placed on girls and the honor-based abuse that simmers beneath. Nila's parents, progressive by diaspora standards, permit her artistic pursuits and eschew strict traditions. Yet their insistence on a 'good girl' image still carries an undercurrent of control that constrains her freedom. Ultimately, 'Good Girl' is a young woman's howl against a world that demands she shrink, marking Aber as a writer to watch.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
‘Anything Goes': Yoshitomo Nara on His Creative Process as London Exhibition Opens
Artworks by Yoshitomo Nara go on display in London this week in what organizers say is the largest European retrospective of the Japanese artist. The show, running at the Hayward Gallery by the River Thames, features more than 150 works - drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics and installations - nodding to the longtime influences of Nara's works including music, nature, the importance of home and the peace movement. "This is about 40 years' worth of my work," Nara told Reuters at a press preview on Monday. "When I look at my work, I don't think what I'm trying to say has actually changed in that time. Whatever period I look at reflects a part of myself, which is why this exhibition is not done chronologically." Nara, 65, is best known for his portraits of child-like characters with big gazing eyes. "I think all the pictures I've created are like my reflections," he said when asked about them. On display are plenty of those kinds of paintings and drawings as well as sculptures. "Anything goes," says Nara, who was born in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan and lived in Germany early in his career before moving back home, said of his creative process. "I don't think about what I'm doing, but when I've done something good, I can feel the reason behind it almost like a kind of hindsight." The show is an expanded version of a touring exhibition previously put on at the Guggenheim in Bilbao and Museum Frieder Burda in Baden-Baden. "What's quite interesting, I think, for audiences in London and in Europe overall (is)... we don't actually get to see Nara's work in person that often," exhibition curator Yung Ma said. "We've all seen his paintings and drawings on our I think all these kind of images, they don't do the works justice. So it's actually quite important to come and see because you can actually then understand (that)... he's a really good you can actually really see the texture of the works and the colors and the layering of the paint." The exhibition runs from June 10 to August 31.
