"Family lines are not as straight as they could be, but they are continuous," Scheherazade said. "Eventually enough generations pass through life and death that everyone's story begins kan ma kan, once upon a time. When your story starts with that, your life becomes a fable to those with only a trace of your blood."

A certain je ne sais quoi, charm, mystique, and shadows accompany the night, while visitors of the night counter are in anticipation for the all surprises the former bears.

Such is the story of Fatima and Schehrazade and the surrounding characters of Alia Yunis's debut novel The Night Counter.

the new novel from Alia Yunis: your purchase in part benefits Levantine Cultural CenterHer tale is a tour de force when it comes to dualities: life versus death, reality versus fantasy, past versus present, expatriation versus home, integration versus preservation-all embodied in thought and entourage of Fatima Abdullah.

Fatima, an 85-year-old veteran immigrant to the United State, knows when she will die: nine days starting the 992nd nightly visit of Scheherazade, a legendary female queen and the storyteller of A Thousand and One Nights. Sharing with her the art of narration, Fatima tells her frequent visitor her life story, knowing that her life will end on the 1001th night.

Amidst the reality of Fatima's present and past comes the fantasy of repeated visits and interactions with Schehrazade, with whom she relives the nostalgia of her Lebanese past and her adventures in the United States.

"You have revealed to me a story that is not the world's greatest story," Scheherazade said. "It was your collection of your greatest stories. May I share them with others?"
"Inshallah," Fatima said.
"Inshallah," Schehrazade replied.

Not only does Fatima have to rush to tell her story, she has some unfinished business to take care of before her time comes. Her two main concerns are marrying off her openly gay, Los Angeles-based, grandson-she is appalled by his homosexuality and never fully accepts it-and handing over her house in Lebanon to a family member whom she thinks will treasure its value.

Author Alia YunisThese two projects give way to stories of her children, her grandchildren, and great grand children-all of whom and whose acquaintances have endured typical experiences of an Arab American, primarily feelings of guilt associated with diverging from tradition, seeking or denouncing ones roots, while Fatima tries so desperately to piece things together.

Yunis, through the stories and recollections of each of the Abdullahs, shuttles her account from present to past. The sequential numbering of the nights leading to the 1001th night leaves the reader in anticipation of whether or not Fatima will actually die on that night, and if so, whether or not she will realize her ultimate two goals before it is too late.

The conflict that Yunis raises in her account regarding the problematic of trying to blend Arab culture with American customs seem somewhat rudimentary and mundane, given the scores of books, movies and documentaries on the subject. Still, just how Yunis presents the polemic is worth highlighting, for every now and then, the author gently slips in an Arabic comment regarding a controversial issue for Arabs in American society that reiterates its relevance to this community.

"When the principal had called to tell Fatima that Bassam [Fatima's son] had been caught with coke she was furious. ‘How could he use Coke? She had said. ‘Coke is on the Arab boycott list of companies doing business with Israel. Shame. Aabe. Pepsi. Pepsi is okay. I am not raising Zionists.' That was how far Bassam and his choice of drugs had stepped away from his parents' immigrant bubble.

She also shuttles the narrative from one character to another in an effort to give a holistic and multi-generational image of the Arab American experience.

Finally, Yunis's debut is promising in the amount of socio-historical research she has conducted. Her Arab American upbringing seems to have informed most of the novel's content. It may be that the world of dichotomies Yunis describes is emblematic of the very condition of the world we live in.

A transplant from Beirut, Dina Abou Salem is a writer and teacher of Arabic  at Levantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles.