Overview
A finalist for the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, a compelling saga of two families that illuminates the lives of women in modern Tunisia Tunisia, 1930s. Against the backdrop of a country in turmoil, in search of its identity, the lives and destinies of the members of two important upper-class families of Tunis intertwine: the Ennaifer family, with a rigidly conservative and patriarchal mentality, and the Rassaa, open-minded and progressive. One terrible night in December 1935, the destiny of both families changes forever when Zbaida Ali Rassaa, the young wife of Mohsen Ennaifer, is accused of having had a clandestine love affair with Tahar Haddad, an intellectual of humble origins known for his union activism and support for women's rights. The events of that fateful night are told by eleven different narrators, members of the two families, who recall them in different historical moments, from the 1940s to the present day. The result is a complex mosaic of secrets, memories, accusations, regrets, and emotions, taking the reader on an exciting journey through the stories of individuals caught up in the upheavals of history.
Full Product Details
Author: Amira Ghenim ,
Miled Faiza ,
Karen McNeil
Publisher: Europa Editions
Imprint: Europa Editions
Dimensions:
Width: 15.40cm
, Height: 3.80cm
, Length: 22.80cm
Weight: 0.544kg
ISBN: 9798889660507
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 14 January 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
"""One of the best Tunisian novels of recent years... Amira Ghenim masterfully weaves suspense throughout a family saga that grips the reader until the very last page.""--Internazionale ""An enthralling exploration of the complexities of Tunisian society, and a gripping family saga that captures the spirit of a nation poised between tradition and modernity.""--Corriere della Sera ""A mesmerizing kaleidoscope of a novel.""--la Repubblica"
""One of the best Tunisian novels of recent years... Amira Ghenim masterfully weaves suspense throughout a family saga that grips the reader until the very last page.""--Internazionale ""An enthralling exploration of the complexities of Tunisian society, and a gripping family saga that captures the spirit of a nation poised between tradition and modernity.""--Corriere della Sera ""A mesmerizing kaleidoscope of a novel.""--la Repubblica
Author Information
Amira Ghenim is a Tunisian writer and academic, born in 1978. She teaches Linguistics and Translation at Tunis University. Her novel The Yellow Dossier won the 2020 Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamad Prize. A Calamity of Noble Houses was published in 2020. Miled Faiza is a poet, translator, and senior lecturer at Brown University. Among his translations are the Booker Prize-shortlisted novel Autumn, and Winter by Ali Smith. Together with Karen McNeil, he has translated the 2016 IPAF winner The Italian by Shukri Mabkhout (Europa, 2021). He teaches Arabic at Brown University. Karen McNeil is an Arabic-to-English translator. Together with Miled Faiza, she has translated the 2016 IPAF winner The Italian by Shukri Mabkhout (Europa, 2021), as well as poems and short stories for Banipal and World Literature Today. She was a revising editor of the Oxford Arabic Dictionary (2014) and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Arabic linguistics at Georgetown University, with a focus on the sociolinguistics of Tunisia.
