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"In a tiny village in rural Iran, Zal's demented mother--horrified by his pale skin and hair, the opposite of her own--becomes convinced her baby is evil. She puts him in a wire birdcage on her veranda with the rest of her caged flock, and there he stays for the next ten years: eating birdseed and insects, defecating on the newspaper he squats upon, squawking and shrieking like the other birds.He is rescued from that hell and adopted by a behavioral analyst who brings him to New York and sets out to help him find happiness. Zal is emotionally stunted, asexual, physically unfit, and trying desperately to be human as he stumbles through adolescence. His fervent desire to be normal grows as he ages, but the fact that he still dreams in "bird" and his secret penchant for yogurt-covered beetles make fitting in a challenge. He forges a friendship with a famous illusionist who claims he can fly--another of Zal's bird-like obsessions--and embarks on a romantic relationship as well. His girlfriend, Asiya, crumbling under the weight of her supposed clairvoyance, sends Zal's life spiraling out of control. Like the rest of New York, he is on a collision course with tragedy. The Last Illusion is a wild, operatic, and startling homage to New York and its most harrowing catastrophe. It is tragic but laugh-out-loud funny, irreverent yet respectful, hugely imaginative yet universal"--… (more)
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One of the things I really liked about Khakpour's writing was the unique voice she created for the different characters, especially for Silber, Ashiya, and Hendricks. The other has to be the invisible, yet very visible thread of King Zal's story in the Shahnameh, which I wish I remembered better than I do, having read it many years ago. The book does a good job of giving the gist of the story in several places, which works to jog memory and refocus the narrative.
Perhaps the one thing that did bother me was that some parts could have been edited a bit tighter (which is not necessarily a bad thing coming from me, as I say the same thing about most of Salman Rushdie's books...) Several times I felt like I spent too much time in a character's head. Every motive, every intention, every emotion seemed duly explained, which was not always necessary.
Recommended for those who like insect candy, magic shows, and New York.
Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for a copy of The Last Illusionist.
The story takes place between 1999 when the world was obsessed with Y2K and 2001 and the fall of the Towers. The character, Zal, is taken from the Iranian Book of Kings in which an albino, Zal is abandoned, then raised by a giant eagle, and eventually becomes a great hero. But this modern Zal is not a hero at least not in any way except in his earnest attempts to escape his bird identity, to become human, to learn to smile but then the times he seems to occupy are not heroic either – it’s all illusion, freaks, hurtful encounters, made-up rules about the unknown and fears of possible future catastrophes - at least, that is, until the last illusion is shattered by the reality.
By combining myth, illusion, and reality, author Porachista Khakpour has created a beautifully crafted, original and lyrically told tale of New York and of the terrible tragedy that befell it. At times funny, sad, quirky, sympathetic and, in its treatment of the tragedy, respectful, The Last Illusion is the kind of story that mostly entertains, occasionally infuriates, but always makes you think, and it continues to resonate with the reader long after the final page is turned.
Once we're all in New York, it isn't long before the long shadow of September 11 hangs over us. The main action of the book happens in 1999-2001, and it quickly becomes clear that September 11 will be the conclusion of the book. Will it be the version of 9/11 that we know, or some fictional version? If it is the version we know, how will the characters be involved in the actions of that day? I suspect for most American readers of this novel, your brain will spend as much time engaged with these questions as the actual text. And given your personal level of investment in that day, you may not be able to see this text at all.
Which would be a shame, because Khakpour has done some good work here. I really adored Zal, even as his actions sometimes baffled me. His well-meaning father and therapist, his odd, doomsday-foreseeing girlfriend and her dysfunctional family, the drama-loving illusionist, all were intriguing characters.
But for an American audience, what most opinions and reviews come down to is, did Khakpour pull off the ending? I'm not going to spoil the ending here, but for me, the answer was: mostly. Or maybe a better answer would be: enough. It worked well enough, given my level of engagement with the characters, to not leave a bad taste in my mouth.
September 11 is such a large event in American consciousness. I think we are ready, on average, for September 11 to appear in fiction. But I think fewer of us are ready for it to be a metaphor. Khakpour was very ambitious with this novel.