The Quiet Librarian

Much of Hana/Nura’s narrative arc is focused on the way that she rebuilds her identity in the aftermath of wartime trauma. Over the course of the novel, she transforms from a village girl into a soldier and then into a “quiet librarian,” with each shift encompassing a deliberate reshaping of the self. She learns to hide her past and reinvent herself to eventually reclaim a life beyond violence and trauma.

Hana/Nura understands the power of appearance in shaping perception. She learns this lesson first during the war when she dons the uniform of a soldier. Transforming herself into a combatant helps her turn the pain of having witnessed her family’s brutal murder into action: She decides to fight for the liberation of her country and avenge their deaths. As a soldier, she is still immersed in the trauma of the war, but she is able to put aside her grief because she has a new focus and a concrete plan of action.

Later, as a civilian in the United States, she once again changes her appearance to match her new identity. She wears dowdy skirts and drab sweaters in an effort to draw as little attention to herself as possible, with even the children at the library calling her “the sweater lady” (113).