Stop and Smell the Books

Stop and Smell the Books

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Stop and Smell the Books
Stop and Smell the Books
THE LAST ONE by Fatima Daas (2020)
Book Reviews

THE LAST ONE by Fatima Daas (2020)

★ ★ ★ ★ .5 - I loved the mixed reflections on queer identity & spiritual faith, & the themes of classism, millennial queer culture, & finding yourself through your art.

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Ceallaigh
Jun 04, 2025
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Stop and Smell the Books
Stop and Smell the Books
THE LAST ONE by Fatima Daas (2020)
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‘Still, there’s that faint voice, taking up all the room.

It’s as though it was a part of me, no, something stronger, bigger, the other half of me. The half you can’t shut up.

That voice is my nafs—my soul—encouraging me to be “bad.”’


title: The Last One

author: Fatima Daas

published: 2020, in orig. French (2021 Eng. trans.)

publisher: Noir sun Blanc (Other Press)

genre/subgenre: novel in verse—autofiction?

setting: Clichy, in Paris, France (contemporary)

main themes/subjects: identity, queerness, family dynamics & relationships, Islam, North African diaspora & cultural displacement (esp linguistic), finding oneself in ones religion, love & shame, queer-masking, anti-establishment & millennial/2nd-gen.-immigrant counter-culture, classism & commuter fatigue

representation: queer Arab Muslim author & disabled (asthma) poly masc lesbian Algerian-French Muslim MC

stylistic elements: repetition, prose verse


blurbs:

“Daas’s way of exploring a commute she once considered ‘normal,’ then grew to see as an ‘injustice.’ … Daas’s overriding message is that you don’t have to give up any part of yourself: you can inhabit a host of seemingly clashing identities at once.” —The Guardian

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“…constructed by fragments… aware that each word could make everything explode, and you have to choose them with infinite care.” —Virginie Despentes, author of King Kong Theory

—

“…a thoughtful examination of a character who deeply wants to be known despite lacking the tools to do any of that self-excavation. …lyrically built…” —Kristen Arnett, author of Mostly Dead Things and With Teeth

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“I tore through this incredible work of art in one sitting, but I often took a moment to catch my breath and admire the defiant beauty at the heart of this book.” —Abdi Nazemian, author of Stonewall Honor Book Like a Love Story

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“…unpacking family ties or tracing the ways queerness dovetails with other identities… like a quiet symphony until you realize it is in fact a crescendo of what it means to be human.” —Mona Eltahawy, author of The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls

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“Whether dealing with chronic illness, sexuality, therapy, education, faith, friendship, family, romance, or riding the bus, Fatima Daas’ The Last One takes on the world with honesty, humor, and lyricism. The specificity of life in the Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois underscores universal themes and utterly recognizable emotions. Daas bares her narrator’s soul, and we can’t look away.” —Eman Quotah, author of Bride of the Sea


‘“I have to tell you about my novel, but forget it. Not now.”

I say this with the same detached tone.

Goulili dorka, waghlach tseney?

“Tell me about it now. Why wait?”

I get my impatience from my mother.

I’ve waited twenty-nine years. She’s right.

Why wait longer?

It’s the story of a girl who isn’t really a girl, who isn’t Algerian or French, who isn’t from Clichy or Paris, a Muslim I think, but not a good Muslim, a lesbian whose homophobia is built into her.’


my thoughts:

I loved the mixed reflections on queer identity & spiritual faith. As an afab person I very much resonated with Fatima’s experience of growing up genderless or even “as a boy” until getting their period at which point they felt their gender was truly “assigned” to them. Her mother told her it was natural & she replied, well then “I hate nature.” My childhood experience with gender was very similar. I was also struck by the implications of how so often in relation with other people, like in round-table introductions, the things you are meant to explicitly share about yourself, & claim as making up your “identity” (name, last name, age…), are all “things you don’t choose.”

I also very much related with Fatima’s journey in her spiritual faith. Though my upbringing in the Lutheran church, & with a very open-minded & supportive parent as my spiritual mentor, was very different from Fatima’s, I resonated with her personal relationship with God, how her desire to feel connected to & loved by & to pray to God never wavered & she always looked for ways to strengthen her faith on her own terms & according to her true identity—& how no matter how strongly she felt about herself & who she was, that that was always still a very difficult journey to take, especially on her own which in many ways she was.

i would recommend this book to readers who are interested in the plethora of powerful, excellent themes discussed in this book such as classism, the experience of growing up as a second generation immigrant in a western city, millennial queer culture (i.e. discovering & exploring your queerness, particularly as an adult, without a map), friendship, family relationships (siblings & parents), & finding yourself through your art.

this book is best read… well, I read it in the English translation & I would love to read it in the original French because when I tried to reverse translate some of the lines in my head they already sounded so much more lyrical which I think would really lend itself to the cadence & flow of the story so as soon as I can get my hands on an original French edition I will report back!


‘Fatima is the youngest daughter of the last prophet Mohammed—Salla Allah alayhi wa salam, peace and salvation be upon him—and his first wife, Khadidja.

My name is Fatima.

God alone knows if I carry it well.’


final note: Shout out to Amy (out.with.lanterns on IG) for including the “novel in verse” prompt on her May Book Bingo which led me to go look for one & find Daas’s book.

tangent: One of my favorite quotes in this book was: “God doesn’t need me to pray for Him. / It’s me who needs it.” & last night, while reading T Kingfisher’s The Wonder Engine, the character Caliban says: “Prayer is for the one who prays. It would be a monstrous arrogance to think that my prayers might sway the heart of a god.” So I thought that was a super cool parallel.

CW // child abuse (a father with a belt), homophobia

season: spring, or Ramadan

music pairing: ‘We listen to the same music: “Gravé dans la roche,” “7 Days,” “Sans (re)pères,” “Au summum,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Mystère et suspense,” “What’s Love,” “Ces soirées-là,” “Les Rois du monde,” “The Real Slim Shady,” “Oops!…I Did It Again,” “Trop peu de temps,” “Stan,” “I’m Outta Love.”’

further reading:

  • LA PETITE DERNIÈRE by Fatima Daas (2020) —the original French language edition of the book.

  • THE SKIN AND ITS GIRL by Sarah Cypher (2023) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  • YOU EXIST TOO MUCH by Zaina Arafat (2020) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  • I really need to find more novels in verse to read…

Click on the star ratings beside the titles I’ve read to read my reviews/thoughts about the book.
I earn commissions from the sponsored links to my shop on bookshop.org which allow me to keep the majority of my content like Book Reviews & Reading Lists free to all subscribers. <3

‘Before I allowed myself to write, I satisfied others’ expectations.’


Thanks for reading Stop and Smell the Books! Subscribe here to receive new posts & support my work. Xx, Ceallaigh

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