Two souls brought together by love are distanced by the challenges of living with conflicting social values during times of extreme political stress. Rasha Halwani, a victim of the Lebanese civil war, and Luke Elliott, a British photojournalist, begin a clandestine romance while on vacation in Paris. However, the tranquility of their previous encounters quickly dissipates when Luke’s unannounced arrival on Rasha’s doorstep in Beirut incites a wrangle over cultural differences and polarized attitudes towards war. Once certain of her values and her role as a woman in late 20th-century Islamic society, Rasha finds herself stymied by the choices before her and the ramifications of pursuing a life with this Westerner.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In Lebanon-native Mills's first novel, 25-year-old Rasha Halwani, daughter of a conservative Muslim family in war-torn 1981 Beirut, suffers through a joyless, stressful life in too-close proximity to the ongoing civil war. She takes a summer vacation to Paris from her job teaching English, and finds herself, within the span of 10 days, falling in love with Reuters photojournalist Luke Elliot. Luke is as rootless as Rasha is connected to her deeply traditional mother and father. So when Luke shows up unannounced at Rasha's door just after the conclusion of an Israeli incursion, Rasha's father immediately and correctly suspects the worst. Consorting with Westerners can also bring unwanted attention in sectarian Beirut, and Rasha's father forbids her from doing anything that would disgrace or endanger the family. She tries to abide by his command, until Luke, out of sheer callow imprudence, makes it impossible. The love story itself is lightweight and conventional, but the smaller intervening scenes-abrupt peril in a taxi; boredom waiting for a bombardment to end; anxiety and paranoia in any public place at all-make this a vivid portrait of a country in turmoil.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Events in the Middle East assume a human form through this novel, and it is worth reading for both its beautifully told story and for the insights it provides as well." —Bookviews.com
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