The Age of Reinvention

On his eighteenth birthday, Samuel Baron finds out he is not who he thought he was. He is shocked to find that the people who raised him are not his real parents and that his real name is a variation of Christ's, a big surprise with his Jewish upbringing. This is a source of great emotional turmoil for Samuel. In his anger, he leaves his parents to attend college in France, where he meets his girlfriend Nina, a beautiful girl born to a broken military family. While at college, he and Nina meet the ambitious, seductive Sam Tahar—not to be confused with Samuel Baron.

Suddenly, Samuel's parents are killed in a car accident. Before leaving to repatriate his them, Samuel tells Sam to look after Nina. After an exam, Nina comes to Sam in tears. Betraying Samuel's trust, Sam and Nina sleep together. Samuel returns and never learns of the incident, but things aren't the same between them. At the end of the school year, Samuel senses their relationship and gives Nina an ultimatum: him or Sam. Samuel, feeling that it is over between him and Nina, tries to commit suicide as a desperate last attempt to keep her. Nina, moved by this final act, stays with him.

Years later, Sam has become one of America's top lawyers and is married to one of the most prestigious families in New York. Samuel and Nina, however, are living among the lower-class. They see Sam on TV, and Samuel pushes Nina to contact him. He is afraid that if Nina could do it over again, she would choose Sam. Nina and Sam rekindle their lost passion, and she leaves Samuel. Sam hides his affair with Nina. But as it turns out, the affair isn't the only thing Sam is hiding. When Sam's half-brother Francois appears in his office one day, his mysterious past begins to unravel. His real name is Samir Tahar. He is of Arabic descent, not Jewish descent as everyone believes. In an attempt to make his half-brother disappear, he creates a foreign bank account to support him. Unbeknownst to Samir, his brother gets involved in terrorist activities using the money Samir supplies. Late one night, Samir is arrested in his home. The United States of America is pressing charges against Samir for funding terrorist activity. His family feels betrayed, and the media spreads the truth about Samir's roots across America. Nina, unaware of his imprisonment, believes that he has lost interest in her, and she returns home to France.

Once Nina leaves Samuel, he is destroyed. He begins to do drugs, and his life seems to take a turn for the worse. But in his pain, he finds inspiration to write. With his first published novel titled Consolation, Samuel skyrockets into success. But despite his success, he finds that he still isn't content. He is drained by the constant interviews and media coverage that come with the popularity of his book. Upon hearing of Samir's imprisonment, he decides to be a witness for Samir so that he can write a new book about it. But once he sees the state that Samir is in, he is unable to bring himself to it. Despite all the hurt Samir has caused him, he testifies for Samir's case and writes an article in France that helps put the people on Samir's side. After sixty-six days of brutal interrogation, Samir is released.

Once Nina arrives back in France, she is shocked to find a new family in Samuel's old apartment, unaware of his newfound success. She is left to live among the homeless on the streets. When Samuel discovers this, he hires an investigator to track her down. When he finds her at a homeless women's shelter, he tries to convince her to come back. She has gained weight and stopped caring for her appearance, but she finds comfort in letting go of what she used to hold on to so dearly. She refuses to go with him. She wants to live a life of her own.

The novel concludes with each character left with the effects of the life they constructed for themselves. Though they achieved what they had dreamed, they were unable to find happiness in their goals. Samir must start his life anew. His wife has filed for divorce, and many of his clients have moved companies. Samuel no longer has the girl he loved, and Nina has left the life she's always known for where she feels like she truly belongs.

The Age of Reinvention has been met with mixed reception since the English translation released in 2015. Among positive things, the book was a finalist for the Prix Goncourt in 2013, one of the most prestigious French literary awards.[1] Several articles liken the book to a modern-day Great Gatsby.[2][3] In a review from The Washington Post, Ron Charles simply notes the Gatsby-like qualities of Samir Tahar.[2] Heidi Warneke, however, describes the whole novel as "Gatsby-esque" with the added themes of "prejudice, politics, and racism." [3] Most reviews compliment the initial premise of the novel and what Tuil aimed for with her novel.[2][4][5] Charles also notes Tuil's use of style to convey tension and hysteria in the novel.[2]

The novel was also met with much criticism. Although Charles compliments Tuil's style, some articles criticize it.[5][6] Carmela Ciuraru of The New York Times describes it as a "synonym buffet" and critiques Tuil's use of footnotes. Much critique, however, goes to Karine Tuil's handling of racism within the novel.[4][7] Hannah Beckerman, in a review for The Observer, criticizes the dichotomy between Jews and Muslims in The Age of Reinvention.[4] She notes that all of the Muslims in the book get a sad ending, while all the Jewish characters end up well-off. In the journal Humaniora, Ellita Widjayanti writes about Islamophobia in The Age of Reinvention.[7] She discusses how Tuil portrays each of the Muslim characters negatively. However other articles,[3][8] discuss The Age of Reinvention as a timely novel that addresses these subjects, not as Islamophobic itself. Some articles note that though they believe the initial premise was promising, it failed to follow through.[4][5] This view for Beckerman is a result of how racism is portrayed in the novel,[4] but for Ciuraru it was due to its themes.[5]

Several articles comment on Karine Tuil's style in The Age of Reinvention.[2][5][6] Tuil uses footnotes in the story to provide more background on characters. Each time a character has a brief interaction with a passerby, a footnote is provided explaining some additional detail or motive. For example, Samir passes a bouncer at a club. "Bouncer" has a footnote that explains this man dreamed of being a champion boxer, but instead had to settle for a job as a nightclub bouncer. This provides additional detail on different people—even places—throughout the novel. The reviewers also comment on how Tuil describes things. This is what Ciuraru describes as a "synonym buffet."[5] Tuil writes a series of synonyms separated by forward slashes. For example, Tuil writes, "[Samir] enters the courtroom, frightened/distraught/exhausted."