Book description
From Lebanon's golden age, through years of civil conflict and its
aftermath, these women offer a captivating portrait of a country in
flux. Well-known authors such as Emily Nasarallah, Hanan al-Shaykh and
Alawiya Sobh, alongside newer voices, share he desire to push
boundaries, tackling subjects from the crippling effects of war in
past decades, through longing for romantic adventures in a
conservative society, to the functioning of families across the
divides of emigration and generational conflict. The characters in
these stories are on the brink of something - whether it be religious
or social divides, or sexual awakening. The language reflects the
great tension, and the great beauty in their transformation. And the
collection as a whole reveals the rich diversity of the complex
multi-cultural society out of which these stories have emerged. 'In
turn lyrical, sensuous, comic and ironic ... rare and fascinating ...'
Independent 'Some truly insightful, engaging work ...' New Statesman
