Our Names

“A calm and vital storyteller, a writer of real rhythmic grace.”—Ali Smith, The Guardian From one of the most “assured and formidable” (The Wall Street Journal) literary voices today, Our Names spans a decade to tell a story of international politics and intrigue through the magnetic friendship between two women 1955 Bandung, Indonesia. Twenty-two-year-old Marie Nahhas has been granted the opportunity to travel with the Lebanese delegation to the first Asian-African Conference—the largest gathering of leaders from recently decolonized countries to date—as one of two secretaries, the spare. Stricken by her brother’s death two years prior and uncertain about her impending marriage, the conference is a fleeting chance for adventure, to witness history in a way that would have made her brother proud. There, she meets Shirin, an Indian Parsi photojournalist, self-assured and daring, who knows how to use being underestimated as a woman to her advantage. Skeptical of Marie’s engagement and unafraid to stray from the beaten path, it seems Shirin has a lot to teach Marie. Eleven years later, Shirin is the one with questions. She embarks on a search for Marie that carries her on a winding journey across Lebanon. Navigating rich political terrain through an intimate lens, Our Names is an expansive and masterfully written book about imagining a world after empire.