“My name is Fatima Daas.” This is the rhythmic refrain of Fatima Daas’ debut novel The Last One, a tender but powerful exploration of the “often conflicting facets of her identity: French. Algerian. Muslim. Lesbian.”
The book, which was originally published in France in 2020 and then swiftly released in English in December 2021, is equal parts second-generation immigrant novel and queer coming-of-age story.
Daas shares an intimate, confessional account of growing up in the majority-Muslim suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, from nuggets about her upbringing, such as “show through little gestures but never say,” to her conversations with Muslim leaders about how her anonymous “friend” can assimilate her queer lifestyle into her Muslim ideology.
Read the full review at My French Life…
Thank you to Other Press and My French Life for gifting me with a copy of The Last One in exchange for an honest review.