His entry begins:
Rabih Alameddine is no stranger to the LGBTQ literary community. In 2017, his novel, The Angel of History, won the Lammy Award for Best Gay Novel, and he’s a frequent essayist-cum- philosopher on subjects ranging from HIV/AIDS to the emerging status of gay writers and the role we play in world literature.Visit Timothy Jay Smith's website.
Somewhat belatedly, I learned about his book, The Wrong End of the Telescope, published in 2021. In it, a trans Lebanese doctor (living in Chicago with her wife) travels to the Greek island of Lesbos for a short stay to help refugees – primarily Syrian – who arrive by crossing a narrow but treacherous channel from Turkey.
The setting intrigued me for more than the obvious reason that it’s set in Greece. For over twenty years, I’ve gone every year to Lesbos and know exactly where Alameddine has set his novel. At the height the refugee crisis (2015-2017), I assisted the relief efforts in many capacities, so I was especially curious how he would describe and characterize the situation.
Alameddine’s portrayal of the place, people, and situation is perfect. For anyone who wants to know how the refugee crisis played out in terms of the interactions between volunteers, international aid agencies, and local villagers, Telescope captures it – including cringe-worthy moments when...[read on]
Writers Read: Timothy Jay Smith (May 2019).
My Book, The Movie: The Fourth Courier.
The Page 69 Test: The Fourth Courier.
Q&A with Timothy Jay Smith.
The Page 69 Test: Fire on the Island.
The Page 69 Test: Istanbul Crossing.
Writers Read: Timothy Jay Smith (October 2024).
Writers Read: Timothy Jay Smith.
--Marshal Zeringue
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