Sherazade [Paperback]

Leila Sebbar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

Sherazade is seventeen, Algerian, and a run-away in Paris. Although she has no morals, no scruples, no politics, no apparent emotional depth and little education, Sherazade remains curiously unattached but innocent in the city's underworld of drop-outs, political activists and junkies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Sherazade is haunted by her Algerian past; she searchs for her true identity in Arab books but is caught between worlds - Africa and Europe, her parents' and her own, colony and capital...

About the Author

Leila Sebbar was born in Algeria to a French mother and an Algerian father, both teachers until Independence. She studied in Paris and has lived there for the last twenty-five years. She is now a leading writer on Algerian feminist themes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Quartet Books Ltd (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0704381257
• ISBN-13: 978-0704381254
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Search of Myself, December 8, 2003

By 

Linda J. PhillipsBoyd (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherazade (Paperback)

The back cover of the book provides the reader with the main plot of the story, yet it fails to provide information about the subplot, which is just as important. Sherazade is indeed the main character but the reader also has to give full attention to the other characters who serve to give a more rounded and very detailed account of the story.
With the exception of Sherazade and Julian, the young people in the story are militants, musicians, runaways, and outcasts of the society they live in. Each has their own reason for being away from their families and living in a condemned building. They are searching for a sense of freedom and an identity that has eluded them all their lives.
Even though some represent the children of the fighters of the revolution, they have no connection to the reason for the fight and its importance to their parents. Even though they are of different ethnic and economic backgrounds, they manage to live together, albeit in poverty, without one person trying to dominate any other person, which for me was one of the highlights of the novel. They brought to mind a mini United Nations minus the disagreements. They are living in Paris, a country that doesn't want them, so they are forced to live as best as they can, which occasionally means stealing to get money and food.
Sherazade is also searching for her identity, even though she comes from a loving home. She rejects Julian's affection towards her because he is not seeing her for who she is, but rather as an image of how he sees Algerian women. He compares her to the different odalisques that he loves so much. When she finally sees the one he is most impressed with she is appalled that he makes such a comparison. The odalisque depict Algerian woman as objects intended for use by men and not as human beings with thoughts and minds of their own.
The novel is also a social comment on the way the young people are viewed and exploited by the wealthy members of French society. They become objects of interest for amusement and sexual fantasy. Sherazade and her friends rebel against this exploitation in various ways. The intertwining plots help to make the novel a worthwhile read and provide the reader with information about what can happen when society fails to acknowledge its younger generations.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alienation and Identity in Sherazade, December 7, 2003

By 

Tahani Wolkiewicz (Chicago, Il) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherazade (Paperback)

I suppose that every runaway has a story to tell. Usually it involves some sort of abuse or neglect at home. But sometimes it involves searching for identity. Author Leila Sebbar paints a bleak picture of a runaway's day to day existence in Sherazade. I found the book to be a disturbing look at a problem that seems to be growing in cities throughout the world.
The main character, Sherazade, was born in Algeria, raised in France, and is torn between two worlds. She is a dark-skinned immigrant in a country where such characteristics invite suspicion. And seeing in the news the recent wave of racism and anti-immigration sweeping across France made this novel especially relevant to me.
Sherazade hooks up with a diverse group of other disenfranchised youth. They come mostly from former French colonies in search of a life. They are all immigrants or children of immigrants who haven't assimilated. Sherazade and the others are squatters living by their wits and resorting to violence when it suits them. Each has his own or her own reason for living on the streets. I can't say that I'm convinced that their lifestyle is justified, but I think that the author intends to portray them as a product of a dysfunctional society. She is holding a mirror up to society that shows how alienation and poverty breed such people.
Sherazade and her "squat mates" aren't completely disdained by French society. There is a `sympathetic' element in French high society has is enamored by these `street urchins'. It is a two way street of exploitation between the affluent and the disadvantaged. I found this relationship kind of creepy, like an Andy Warhol art house crowd mixing with a gang of street punks. Sherazade and her friends are paraded around like new jewelry or the latest fashion. I think this only elevates the animosity between the two groups. Eventually, Sherazade becomes romantically involved with one of these `benefactors'. Julien Desrosiers is a photographer smitten with Sherazade's beauty. He takes her under his wing and tries to help her. He introduces her to Orientalist art and the painting of Matisse. She is particularly drawn to Matisse's odalisques which portray Arab concubines in various settings. One painting titled "Odalisque in Red Trousers" strikes a nerve in her. It will become a catalyst for change in her life. It will help her to decide whether she is French or Algerian. The relationship between Sherazade and Julien reminded me of Pygmalion, except that Sherazade is only seventeen and is sleeping with a man twice her own age.
I believe Leila Sebbar makes a very powerful statement with Sherazade. The sub-culture of disenfranchised and alienated immigrants that exists in modern day France is a direct result of French colonialism. The lifestyle that Sherazade and her friends lead is disturbing and depressing. But I feel that Sherazade's story needed to be told. Hers is one voice out of thousands of voices with a similar story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sherazade, December 8, 2003

By 

Lamia Samad (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherazade (Paperback)

Sherazade is a runaway teen searching for her identity. Throughout this book I was searching for a reason on why she ran away from home because her parents seemed loving and caring and it didn't seem like she had a tough childhood. Though, I discovered that Sherazade was searching for her true identity. She knew she wasn't completely free because she was not herself and she wasn't comfortable with that.
She lives in a squad with many young kids as well, who seem to have an unstable life but this instability comes from the world not accepting them for who they are. Their revenge is to steal from the French who put them in the position of denying their culture. Sherazade, for the age that she is, 16, seems to be focused, independent, and determined. She doesn't attach herself to anything or anyone. You don't get a sense of weakness from her; she remains strong throughout the book.
Julian is an older man who falls in love with Sherazade. One might read this book and not see that Sherazade loved Julian as well, but I believe she did. At one point in the book, she started to share personal stories with Julian about her life and that was something Sherazade didn't share with anyone. Her love for him was silent and not so obvious as Julian's love for her, though that was part of Sherazade being strong. She ran away from home for a reason, to chase after her Algerian identity, and she didn't let anyone get in her way. Her love for Julian stayed with in because I believe she knew that would be a distraction and she had to remain strong so she can get to her destination.
Shehrazade tends to run away from everything and everyone, even the ones that love her, though she remained sane and survived through her readings and writings. I believe she felt much safer when she was dealing with herself and her own thoughts because she withheld the truth and Sherazade didn't seem like she trusted anyone. Though, why should she? She is a 16-year-old girl running away from the family she loves so she can find herself and live in a place where she is accepted for who she really is and not be judged by it.
The color red is brought up from the beginning of the book until the end. When something was being described, red would be the main color. At the end, the color red later on merged into the painting Sherazade admired by Matisse. At first I thought that Sherazade loved the painting of Odalisque with Red Trousers. Though, I realized that she was not fascinated with the painting because she loved it, but she was fascinated with it because she was disgusted by it. That painting gave her more determination for her to go back home because in this painting she realized how her culture was being misrepresented. She bought all the postcards and send them out to friends and her family and I understood this to mean that she wanted them to understand why she ran away and this was the best explanation she could find.
Over all this book was very interesting to read and Sherazade is a very strong and independent woman who played a major role in this book and helped the viewers see the struggle of the Arabic culture and also see how it effected many people especially the young generation who people tend to neglect and see how effected they are as well. This book had my attention from the beginning to the end and I enjoyed it very much. The ending was not what I expected, it didn't seem like it belonged in the book at all.