The description of this book intrigued me and I really looked forward to seeing how the writer portrayed a woman in New York unravelling and the reasons why.
The actual book is seemingly a stream of consciousness from an unnamed narrator, who has obsessive behaviours around cleanliness.
I would’ve liked the concept of the coin itself to be explored in more detail, but I think that’s probably just because I missed some metaphoric meanings and implications. I didn’t feel empathy towards the narrator and found some parts of the book uncomfortable to read.
Overall although I did not enjoy it as much as I wanted to, I know many people will love this book.

3.5⭐️
I had no idea what direction this book was taking, but I liked it!
There's a lot to take from 'The Coin'; the ritualistic behaviours, nonconformity, and insightful reflections.
The quote, "I came from Palestine, which was neither a country nor the third world, it was its own thing, and the women in my family placed a lot of importance on being clean, perhaps because there was little else they could control in their lives," illustrates how the concept of 'control' can vary depending on time and place, leading to different coping mechanisms.
As a lover of handbags (and books), I can't not mention the Hermès bags!
Recommended read if you enjoyed 'Cleopatra and Frankenstein' by Coco Mellors.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the advance copy.

This has been a great read for me, I'm not too familiar with this writing style, but it did turn out to be such a gripping way to see the story of the protagonist unravel. This way I was able to follow the story in a different way of consciousness. Tho I must say not every part of the book had me hooked the same, the protagonist encounters a lot of different people and experiences, and even though it seems just weird and unreal at times, all of that is not far fetched. I'm all for women showing wacky behaviour, it makes one think if we have a reliable narrator here of it is just very exaggerated, and only half true.

This debut novel makes for an interesting read about the unravelling of a young Palestinian woman living in New York. She is a teacher, but her method is not traditional. Perhaps this is in part due to her personality. In places it is quite confronting. Zaher doesn't shy away from delving into various issues.

I have seen dozens of 5-star reviews for The Coin on social media lately, so maybe this coloured my opinion, but this novel left me cold, and despite its short length, it was a slog to get through.
Our unnamed protagonist is living in New York, working as a teacher and obsessing over her personal hygiene. Back in her native Palestine, her brother controls her large inheritance from her dead parents. She meets a man who embroils her in a scheme involving luxury bags, and from here, her carefully controlled life begins to unravel. Zaher is clearly indebted to Otessa Moshfegh with this one; she's hitting many of the same targets with her protagonist.

So, first, the good. The writing style here is bold and compelling, and Zaher is an accomplished wordsmith. The stream-of-conciousness style worked perfectly for the character. The literary device of the coin - once I clocked what it was - was a clever one, a metaphorical weight of her Palestinian heritage and the complexities of it. It wasn't the most clear metaphor at times but it was a clever and unique one, as well as a lens to view the lives of Palestian diaspora. I also loved Zaher's depictions of her narrator's life as a teacher; the kids and their own squabbles and desires were very entertaining.

But good writing & a good B-plot wasn't enough to save this one for me. Now, maybe it is because I have read many, many "messy young woman unravels in the big city" novels but this didn't hit for me at all. The surrealist elements didn't work for me, the plot felt disjointed, and it was near-impossible to get into the protagonist's head and connect with her. It is a deeply weird book - normally extremely my jam! - but nonetheless missed the mark for me.

That said. I will definitely seek out whatever Yasmin Zaher reads next. The writing is great and it is fiercely original in a literary landscape where that descriptor is used way too often. I'll be thinking about it for a while, it's strangeness and subversiveness, even if I didn't actively enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC.

This book follows a Palestinian woman living in New York and working as a teacher, as she slowly begins to unravel. It’s definitely a strange one, unique and for those who love books about unhinged women. I mostly enjoyed it, but it did lose me in parts.

I was incredibly excited when the publisher reached out to me to offer an ARC of The Coin. While The Coin is a genre I am only just dipping my toes into, contemporary realism with a dash of surrealism I suppose, I was hooked by the first page. I have to say I wasn’t sure fully what to expect other than knowing that the narrative was about a Palestinian woman moving to New York City. Then again I often enjoy going into a book blind.

What I will say is I instantly loved the writing. It’s almost stream of consciousness which I think worked perfectly for the novel. I found myself instantly invested in the character and her journey. Now, this style of writing might not be for everyone but I certainly loved it and thought it was done perfectly.

The more I read, the more invested I got. The coin is the perfect blend of exploring identity, class, society, community, sexuality and so much more. While covering a lot of hard hitting subjects Zaher manages to interweave a voice that is both empathetic, human and at times humours.

The Coin may not be for everyone but I most certainly loved every second of reading this. From the writing, the character and plot. Zaher weaved a wonderful tale that once you open the first page will keep you hooked till the end.

This is essentially a story about a woman unravelling. It follows a Palestinian woman who moves to New York to teach at a private school and makes up her curriculum as she goes. She befriends a homeless man, who then moves in with her and gets caught up in a scheme involving designer handbags. Although it's a book I wouldn't normally pick up, it was interesting to read something different! Parts came off like a stream of consciousness, and the main character doesn't always seem to be the most reliable in her storytelling, which keeps you guessing. She has various obsessions throughout the book and often reflects on her upbringing in Palestine. This was also the first book I've read by a Palestinian author, which is one reason that led me to pick this book up!

A brilliant debut a book that was so unique so well written a character that had me in her dizzying grip from the first pages.This will be among my years top ten .The best type of novel one that stays with you long after you’ve read it. #netgalley#thecoin.

An interesting and well written story about the ups and downs of being a young woman in New York while grippling with her Palestilian heritage. The meteaphorical chip on her shoulder (the coin in/on her back) was used sporadically and I am not sure I fully understood it or the latter hald of the novel. But the parts I did underdstand I really enjoyed and everything was written amazingly by Zaher. I personally enjoyed reading about her time as a teacher and her relationships with her students, the main characters blasé attitude to teaching and how she wants to protect them. This was a nice little story that I didn't fully get but I'm glad I could read it.

The Coin
By Yasmin Zaher

This book is dizzying, thrillingly subversive and utterly unique.

On the surface it's the story of the unraveling of a young woman but it's actually an allegorical wasps nest with themes of aesthetics, cleansing, exploitation, colonialism, wealth, class and race disparities, indoctrination, superficiality and cultural ignorance.

I am especially interested in the sensorial violence experienced by the narrator in the city she selects to live in following her departure from a city that is essentially being turned to rubble. Everything is dripping in tacit disdain.

My burning question throughout was who exactly the narrator is addressing. She breaks the fourth wall several times, but as her implicit accusations become more personal, it's clear it's not me, the reader, she is speaking to.

Stunning in it's imagery, audacious in it's probable meaning and exhilarating in it's potential, this is political parody at it's best. An Sean Bhean bhocht comes to mind.

If you loved " If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English" for it's themes, this will probably excite you.

Publication date: 11th July 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and #FootnotePress for the ARC

As a child the narrator, a Palestinian woman, swallows a coin. Years later she emigrates to New York, and whilst teaching at a boys’ school, she rediscovers the coin that she thought she had lost inside of her. A natural but not traditional teacher, obsessed with cleanliness and high-end fashion, she navigates her sense of justice and racial, sexual and gender identities, forming unconventional relationships along the way.

This book is really well written and a unique and fascinating read. To be honest, it was so unique I would say it borders on strange. The unnamed protagonist is definitely questionable in her actions and mental state, and she has an individualistic sense of justice and what is right, which can be seen in particular, with how she treats her students. The idea of the coin was interesting, but I felt the meaning behind the impact of it on her life could have been focused on more. In terms of structure, I found it quite hard to follow at times as it wasn’t linear per se. Written in the first person, there is also the reference to ‘you’, who I assumed was the reader but wouldn’t be surprised if it was something more conceptual. Some of the scenes around cleanliness and sex were frankly just bizarre.

I can see this book really splitting audiences. I think some who like post-modern reads will really enjoy it. However, it definitely isn’t the easiest of reads and I think it’s abstract nature could put a lot off. It certainly is memorable and I’m glad I read it but unfortunately I found it too conceptual.

The Coin is unlike any other book I have read, unnerving, intrusive and addictive. Following the narrator (a wealthy young Palestinian woman) as she tries to build a new life for herself in New York, she slowly unravels as she tells us about her family, her inner thoughts and her relationships through her obsession with a coin she swallowed as a child.. At times she seems vulnerable and as if she is being taken advantage of, but then she seems to be fully aware of who the people in her life are and what she means to them.

This book is a conversation starter and I am sure we will hear more about it and Yasmin Zaher in 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The Coin.

The Coin, I don't really know why to make of this book. The writing, conveyed the disturbance, disgust, laissez faire the narrator had towards life. Some of the descriptions were utterly disturbing as they were obviously TMI (Too Much Information).

It is a kind of book where the central character is trying to make sense of herself - body, mind and all. How she makes sense of herself and the word around her is raw , honest and frankly disturbing and disgusting at times. You will want to stop reading but will come back for more to know where is she going next. So yes disturbing yet compelling the reader to keep reading.

It's a 3.5 stars for me.

Fans of character driven literary fiction might enjoy this stream of consciousness novel. An unnamed narrator wanders through life, obsesses about cleanliness, has high end stuff, and wonders about a coin that once lodge in her throat. I'm sure I missed the underlying point of it but I also missed feeling empathy for the character. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This wasn't for me but it's short and I enjoyed the language.

A supposedly rich Palestinian woman moves to New York and takes up a teaching job. With extreme obsession of cleanliness. That's all I could tell you and I'm quite embarrassed to admit. I skipped most parts of the book because some made me uncomfortable and others just kept me caged in confusion; perhaps it was because of the writing. And I may have just come into realization that weird girl books do not exactly fit my liking upon coming across this one.

Though it doesn't work for me (and I'm saddened by this revelation), I think other people will find this enjoyable. So don't let this discourage you from picking up the book.

Thanks Footnote Press for the opportunity given to me reading the ARC.

Having read the summary I was expecting a book about a Palestinian woman, reasonably well off, who comes to New York in order to thrive. She works as a teacher at an academy but whether through a desire for the unconventional or laziness (I honestly couldn't tell) she teaches the boys to think for themselves and be as unconventional as she thinks she is.

I'll be honest, as the progressed it gave me a headache and the final third (for me) was somewhat incomprehensible. I didn't know if everything was an allegory or metaphor or not.

I enjoy a novel that pushes the boundaries but I was never entirely clear what The Coin was trying to tell me. The title of the book is the object to whom the author addresses her thoughts and I'm afraid I didn't even understand the significance of the coin.

Not for me I'm sorry to say. Perhaps my lack of intellect as regards metaphorical/allegorical writing let me down. Or else I was reading too much into it and didn't understand a word.

Thanks to Netgalley and Footnote Press for the pre-approved advance review copy.

Oh I absolutely love a book that descends into madness and The Coin does not disappoint!

A wealthy young Palestinian woman decides to take a teaching job in New York to try and make it feel like home. Despite being from a rich family her inheritance is locked away by her brother so she makes do with a capsule wardrobe of beautiful clothes. Her approach to teaching is rather... unorthodox and she feels a desperate need to know more about her students.

When a new man enters her life she finds herself involved in a Birkin reselling scheme. America is getting her down and she's mostly looking for anything that will change up her life. The fact that he regards her as well dressed is a major factor in her participation truth be told.

This book is such an engrossing character study of this woman, she is not exactly likeable but she is compelling. The way she choses to conduct her relationships is fascinating and unpredictable. Her innate longing for her homeland manifests in increasingly manic ways and makes for such an original final act.

I cannot believe this is a debut! A book I think all the coolest people will (and should!) be reading this summer.

hear me out: i love anything weird in stories, whether it’s in horror or literary fiction. i’m all for it. i’m also starting to enjoy the “no plot, just vibes” approach, as long as the writing is great.

but this book was weird and messy, and you don’t know where it’s going since it has no plot. our main character is introduced at her worst, and by the end, she’s in an even worse state. at times, the author uses second-person pov (which i loved, btw), making it feel as though the main character is addressing me directly. there’s a lot of stream-of-consciousness writing and societal critiques that i agree with, which made me realize some things even further.

our fmc has an obsession with cleanliness. we often see her shaving and scrubbing her body, but she can’t seem to clean a part of herself, which frustrates her. i think this also mirrors her place in society. as an immigrant in america, she does a lot of pretending and still feels dirty or ashamed of who she is. this likely highlights her experience as a palestinian, feeling out of place in a country her own people oppose.

the short chapters, ranging from 1-2 pages, didn’t work for me as they slowed me down. my attention would often break when we shifted to another chapter so quickly. it’s so random and directionless that i don’t know how to summarize it. the synopsis on goodreads only covers a tiny part of the story, and her involvement in a money scheme is just a small portion of it.

i don’t really get what the author was trying to impart here, but she gave me a strange reading experience; i’ll give her that.

thank you to the bonnierbooks & footnotepress for this e-arc!

A young Palestinian woman moves to New York to work as a teacher and slowly starts to unravel, revealing how fragile and threadbare her veneer of sophistication, wealth, and accomplishment is. We don't learn or know much about the protagonist, but struggle, with her, through the tribulations of her personal life, her work, and her personal history as she tries to make sense of herself and her surroundings, in an increasingly complex environment.

The book is overall well written and the author clearly is quite a talented storyteller. I read the book more or less in one go, and it flowed nicely (though I'm still not sure what was really flowing, but more about this later). That being said, I didn't like the book much. It felt, to me, to be part of the increasingly popular canon of gen-Z angst literature. The book is a modernist novel about nothing really - the protagonist is depressed, likely has OCD, and is somewhat manic depressive. She finds no meaning in life (perhaps things are a bit too easy?) and starts to look for ways to make her life have more meaning through inflicting pain upon herself. There is something of a tortured soul narrative in this book, with a protagonist that can't find joy. She is a good person, but lost to herself and society. The fact that she's Palestinian is a nice tidbit, but she could easily have been Tibetan or Sudanese, and the story wouldn't have changed one bit. This latter point is a shame - it could have added that extra layer of meaning this story lacked.

I can't really say there is anything wrong with this book, and I'm sure it will resonate with some people who also experience this sense of loss and dejection, but I felt this novel to be incredibly Western in its premise, style, and substance. The emotional instability of a pampered young woman wearing Hermes and Miu Miu is almost an affront to everyone who actually has issues. Perhaps I'm missing the part of the book that is supposed to be the undercurrent of criticism of such states of mind, but, if I am, it is incredibly well hidden.

Overall - I'll recommend missing it. If you're a part of Gen Z who struggles with belonging, emotional stability, and happiness - this book will make all your issues graver. If you're born before 1995 - you'll find this book either amusing or infuriating. Either way, there is nothing here that will stay with you, because it's not in any way unique.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.