TITLE: The Good Arabs by Eli Tareq El-Bechelany Lynch (Metonymy Press, 2021)
BOOK CLUB: Violet Hour Book Club at Argo Bookshop
DATE/TIME: Thursday, May 21, from 7 PM to 8:30 PM
LOCATION: Argo Bookshop (1841-A Rue Sainte-Catherine West)
MODERATOR: Brooke Lee
MAX # OF PARTICIPANTS: 40
SIGN-UP: Not required
LANGUAGE: The book and the discussion are in English
RULES: Argo does not require people to have read the book, but it would be appreciated so everyone can participate in the conversation fully
OTHER DETAILS: There is a flight of stairs leading up to the store. For elevator access, please contact the store at least a day in advance so management can get the building keys
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Oscillating between post-explosion Beirut to a Parc-Extension balcony in summer, the verse and prose poems in The Good Arabs ground the reader in place, language, and the body. Peeling and rinsing radishes. Dancing as a pre-teen to Nancy Ajram. Being drenched in stares on the city bus. The collection is an interlocking and rich offering of the speaker’s communities, geographical surroundings both expansive and precise, and family both biological and chosen.
The Good Arabs gifts the reader with insight into cycles and repetition in ourselves and our broken nations. This genre-defying collection maps Arab and trans identity through the immensity of experience felt in one body, the sorrow of citizens let down by their countries, and the garbage crisis in Lebanon. Ultimately, it shows how we might love amid dismay, adore the pungent and the ugly, and exist in our multiplicity across spaces.
ABOUT THE BOOK CLUB:
A companion to the Violet Hour Literary Series, the Violet Hour Book Club has been nurturing a community of readers, writers, and book lovers in Montreal since 2018. The club provides an inclusive and safe space for lively, thought-provoking discussions on books, literature and the craft of storytelling. Open to all, meetings are held in diverse settings where participants explore a range of literary genres, including novels, memoirs, non-fiction, poetry, young adult fiction and graphic novels. Since launching, the group has read more 86 books. Instagram: violet_hour_mtl; Facebook: Violet Hour Book Club; Newsletter: The Violet Letter
Argo Bookshop is the oldest English-language independent bookstore in the city of Montreal, located in the Shaughnessy Village since 1966. We’re proud to offer a curated selection of fiction and non-fiction, including literature, science fiction and fantasy, poetry, science, philosophy, history, and biography. We specialize in books on Japan, as well as books on marginalized groups and by marginalized authors, including books on race, gender, and queer issues. We strive to serve all members of our vibrant and multicultural local community, and we host regular events ranging from readings and signings to book clubs.
MODERATOR: Brooke Lee
Brooke Lee is a Canadian, QWOC writer with ancestral roots in Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and the UK. Her writing on queer, feminist, and intersectional identity—as well as the Montreal literary scene—has been featured in Association of English Language Publishers of Quebec’s Read Quebec blog, Montreal Review of Books, The Miramichi Reader, and The British Columbia Review. Brooke also writes fiction, songs, and poetry under the pen name River Lee, is a former fiction mentee of the Quebec Writers’ Federation Mentorship Program, and a Canada Council for the Arts grant recipient for her work-in-progress, debut novel (a blended work of prose and songs). In 2025, she launched an online creative writing workshop called Sapphic Writes! and continues to host it today, along with other Montreal literary events. For more info, visit Brooke’s website at riverleewriter.ca
