Book Review: Three Parties by Ziyad Saadi

Does the idea of reading a book that takes place over a single day appeal to you, or put you off? Three Parties by Ziyad Saadi is one of this anxiety-inducing stories that some may shy away from because it centers on a stressful day of party preparations. All activities are leading up to a critical event that holds much meaning for the protagonist Firas, a young queer man who has yet to come out of the closet. On his birthday, he plans to announce to his closets friends, family and colleagues his truth, but of course many obstacles get in the way of his celebration and its intended message. There’s alot for the reader to keep up with in this novel, and although it’s beautifully written, I did feel as though there were too many competing storylines to really feel settled or invested in any of them.

Plot Summary

Firas wakes up on his 23rd birthday with much to accomplish. He has been meticulously planning this birthday party for months; sending out handwritten invitations, crafting decorations, taste-testing and cooking practice menus, and curating the perfect playlist. He has invited alot of people too, including colleagues, friends, family, neighbors, basically everyone in his social circle, with the exception of a few people, most notably, men he has had romantic relationships with. He plans on revealing his secret that night with all his friends and family around. He finally feels ready to tell his conservative Muslim family that he is queer, but of course, many obstacles are thrown his way as the day continues. Family dynamics complicate the day as Firas’s grandfather breaks out of his nursing home for the third time, a mistaken text reveals a potential affair in his parent’s marriage, and the burden of watching over his younger brother begins to wear on everyone. Firas is then inexplicably called into the office at work, even though it’s a Sunday, PLUS the florist runs out of the flowers he had planned for his rainbow bouquets carefully chosen for the occasion. Could the day get any worse? Yes, it definitely can.

My Thoughts

An underlying tension that underpins the entire narrative is the fact that Firas and his family are refugees, having fled from Palestine during the occupation when he was young. There aren’t specific flashbacks, but Firas recalls these pivotal memories as he mentally prepares himself for his big day. His memories of the refugee camps they stayed in and the soldiers he had to interact with all sit in the back of his mind, but he makes an active point of repressing these, instead choosing to focus on the present. This is what informs his feelings of other Palestinians in his life; he is annoyed by their complaints if he doesn’t deem them ‘Palestinian’ enough, actively resenting the fact that he has a close friend who calls himself Palestinian, even though he’s never actually been there. At the beginning of the book these issues sit in the background overshadowed by the countdown to the party, but as plans unravel this displacement comes to the forefront for Firas, realization slowly dawning on the reader what a critical role this plays within the Dareer family and their interactions with one another.

The writing is subtle, and many times I found myself re-reading a paragraph, sure I missed something. Saadi doesn’t make it easy for us, but the hidden meaning behind the family’s dialogue is relatable, referencing the fact that we all speak to our family members in a completely different way then we would our friends or acquaintances. Firas is extremely perceptive and often finds himself analyzing what is unsaid between people, which complicates the plot, but also enriches the day of events for us readers, so I appreciated this kind of character building.

The blurb for this book calls it a modern reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, which I’ve never read, so I didn’t understand the parallels until I looked it up. If you know it, you may have a better sense of what you’re getting into with this novel; the inner turmoil, the tragedy, the social anxieties, it’s all there to lose yourself in. My wish was that we could have spent more time with these dramas, because squishing everything into a single day felt overwhelming. More importantly, I wanted to spend more time with Firas, and Saadi’s writing, as I enjoyed both very much.