The Night Counter

The Night Counter by Alia Yunis is the story of one family in America - lead by a strong-willed 85 year old mother of ten and grandmother of fourteen. Each night for 1001 nights, since she arrived in Los Angeles to stay with her grandson Amir, Fatima Abdullah has been visited by Scheherazade. And after 1001 nights there time together will end forever.

Fatima, knowing that after ten more nights she will die, must get her family in order. She has children and grandchildren who need to be married, treasures to sort and decide what she will leave to whom - including her house in Deir Zeitoon, Lebanon. And as she tells Scheherazade of her family members, Scheherazade flies around the country and world to visit them giving readers a glimpse of their lives.

Filled with stories of love, family, humor and destiny, The Night Counter is the tale of how different members of one family react to and change from the stories of their lives. It is an epic tale told over the last few nights in a woman's life.

Yunis, Alia. (2009). The Night Counter. New York: Three Rivers Press.