Magic Classical Book Club: "All The Lives She Lived" by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

Today’s guest on the Magic Classical Book Club is Nathalie Abi-Ezzi who will be talking to Tim Smith about her new novel: "All The Lives She Lived"

She left everything behind―even her name. But secrets don’t stay buried.

It’s 1917. Doris lives a comfortable life with her grandparents in suburban Birmingham, told she is alone in the world. But something doesn’t add up. When she discovers her parents―and six siblings―are alive just streets away, everything she believes unravels.

Who is she? And why was she given away?

Desperate for answers, Doris reinvents herself and flees England, chasing a new life in Baghdad, then Beirut. But no matter how far she runs, the past is never far behind.

Tim asked Nathalie to tell us about the story and the main character Doris:

“The premise of the book is that Doris is an orphan, and she's being brought up by her grandparents. This is the early 1900s, so the World War I years. Until one day, when Doris is 14, her grandmother suddenly announces:

_"’Actually, you're not an orphan. Your parents are alive and well, and not only that, but they and your numerous siblings live 20 minutes walk down the road.’"_

So that's the moment when things start to unravel for poor Doris. And, and the novel's really about the repercussions of that throughout her life and how that trails her through her life.”

Tim then asked where the idea to start the book like that came from:

“Yes, so my grandmother actually was born outside Birmingham, and she emigrated to Baghdad, so that was the seed for my interest in writing about this and exploring it, because Doris does end up emigrating to Baghdad in the novel, in 1938.

I just got to thinking, what must that have been like. It would've been, at that time, pre-internet, pre-TV, she wouldn't have had a clue, and it must have been like landing on the moon. You know, landing on a different planet. So that really was the seed of the novel.”

Tim then asked how much research Nathalie had to do for this novel:

“Well, actually I didn't really know anything about Baghdad at that time. It's not, it's not something my grandmother ever talked about, so it was something I was interested in.

So I had to do a lot of reading, and there's not an awful lot, to be honest, of things set and written at that time. So it was a bit of a challenge, but I did enjoy it. I'm not usually one who enjoys research, but this was, this was interesting.”

As this is the Indie Book of the Month, Tim then asked Nathalie what her favourite indie bookshop is:

“Yes. So there are a couple I'd like to mention. So the first is Salts Mill in Shipley. So this bookshop is located, along with other businesses, in a disused textile mill on the canal, and it's a beautiful, light, airy space, which always has, I think, a Sunday morning feeling about it, and a selection of fantastic books.

And at the other end of the spectrum, I would like to mention a relatively new small indie bookshop called Station Books in Tunbridge Wells. It's such a welcoming shop. Very relaxed with some lovely seating in the back, which is always a plus.”

Tim finally asked Nathalie what her favourite piece of classical music is and why:

“The piece of classical music I've chosen is Bach's Organ Sonata No. 4, played by Vikingur Olafsson. And I chose this piece, because it's beautiful, but because it, it returns again and again to the same melody, and that made me think of Doris and how the single event in her childhood that we talked about resonates throughout her life.”

If you want to listen back to Tim's full interview with Nathalie Abi-Ezzi, click here to see all of Tim's past shows.