Sherazade is seventeen, Algerian, and a ­runaway in Paris. This novel exposes with honesty and lyricism the various issues that affect a young woman living in a city which is both sophisticated and provincial, liberal and conservative, tolerant and prejudiced.In Paris, Sherazade is pursued by Julian, the son of French-Algerians who is an ardent Arabist. Pigeon-holed by Julian into the ­traditional exotic mold, Sherazade endeavors to create her own definition of Algerian...