(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“…in my family, America was both the key and the curse.”
Our narrator, who is from a wealthy Palestinian family moved to New York after her parents died. She was left with an inheritance of which she could only access a small portion. That is, she is only provided with a nominal, strict allowance.
However, that, along with her teacher’s salary, affords her the ability to buy designer clothes and accessories. She is obsessed with style, along with cleanliness, hygiene and a particular coin. What she cannot attain though, is control over her life. Her job as a middle school teacher in a school for underprivileged boys provides her with a certain amount of power that she craves.
We follow her through her strange and often self-destructive relationships with various people, including a trip to Paris with a homeless man, she refers to as “Trenchcoat”. However, these activities and interactions show something deeper.
I appreciate the narrative style, as the story is written as if the narrator is conversing informally with the reader. This approach allows readers to connect deeply with the narrator’s thoughts and emotions, witnessing her struggles and desires firsthand. As we observe her desire to find order and control her surroundings, we see her helplessness, though she does not see it herself. The reader will be astounded by how the story culminates.
The Coin is a quirky yet moving exploration of a woman’s attempt to navigate the intersections of heritage, order, and human connection. It is a must-read for those who appreciate character-driven stories that are as entertaining as they are enlightening.
Author Yasmin Zaher is a Palestinian journalist and I hope to read more from her.
