by Rabih Alameddine, Suzanne Toren
First published 2014
In her cluttered Beirut apartment, sixty-two-year-old Aaliya Sohbi has spent decades translating beloved books into Arabic—then hiding each manuscript in her home, unread by anyone. Childless and divorced, she exists on the margins of her family and neighborhood, known only as an eccentric recluse. When a personal catastrophe threatens to dismantle the delicate world she has constructed, Aaliya must confront her own isolation and the echoing memories of Beirut's turbulent past. As her carefully curated solitude begins to unravel, she navigates the thin lines between personal preservation and complete withdrawal from life. Her only companions are her extensive library and the ghosts of her own complex history—a lifetime of silent creativity waiting to be acknowledged.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, introspective, quiet-life
Setting: Beirut
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
291 pages · Paperback · Grove Press