I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops [Import] [Paperback]

Hanan Al-Shaykh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2002

At the intersection of tradition and modernity, East and West, childhood and adulthood, Hanan al-Shaykh's characters find their way through the shifting and ambiguous power relationships that shape the landscape of the modern Arab world. A woman feigns insanity to escape from an empty marriage, only to have her plans backfire; a young Danish missionary finds herself slowly and inexorably drawn into the world of the Yemeni village where she has been stationed; and a woman's lighthearted attempt to contact the world of the dead turns serious when she encounters the spirit of her late husband. At once clever and evocative, I SWEEP THE SUN OFF ROOFTOPS is a collection of great insight, wit and poignancy, placing Hanan al-Shaykh among the foremost cosmopolitan writers of our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the first of these 17 finely honed stories, a stifled Lebanese wife feigns madness in order to get a divorce from her obtuse but, it turns out, surprisingly resilient and devoted husband. Asked her age, Fatin replies, "The age of madness." This combination of sangfroid and desperation, truly mad situations and sane protagonists, sets the tone for al-Shaykh's (Beirut Blues) fiction. Several stories, notably "The Marriage Fair," spin plots from the ostracism an unmarried woman may endure in the Arab world. In "The Land of Dreams," a female Danish missionary in a Yemeni village tries to find a third way past the impossible choice between a life in the church and a naive assimilation into the surrounding village, which takes an interest in her that has nothing to do with her religious work. The poignant "I Don't Want to Grow Up" concerns a young girl and her brother living in an oil-company compound whose conception of the world is shattered by their servant's clever pragmatism. Setting her tales in the Middle East, North Africa and London, al-Shaykh uses intellectual lightness to buoy even the most oppressive of situations: insanity, suicide, abandonment and immolation. These short narratives represent the faith of a dedicated rationalist whose favorite subject is the stubbornness of unreason in matters of the heart and hearth.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

A Lebanese writer, al-Shaykh has demonstrated her prowess in three previous collections (e.g., Beirut Blues, LJ 9/1/95). This latest work, a delightful collection of 17 stories, confirms al-Shaykh's rank among leading Arab women writers such as Nawal al-Saadawi. Strong, intelligent, and sometimes sorrowful voices dominate these narratives, exemplifying a diversity of contemporary Arab women. Throughout her career, al-Shaykh has confronted censorship in Arab nations for her fiction's sexual explicitness, politically sensitive topics, and portrayal of women. This collection may likely produce similar reactions. However, it should also bring al-Shaykh additional praise and attention for her powerful prose and soulful depiction of the Arab woman's struggle with modern society vs. traditional ways. Recommended for public and academic libraries.?Faye A. Chadwell, Univ. of Oregon Lib. System, Eugene
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks (August 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747561311
• ISBN-13: 978-0747561316
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent collection of superbly told poignant tales, February 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops (Paperback)

I Sweep The Sun Off Rooftops offers a superb collection of short shorties which open a door, and cast light upon life in the Middle East. Each tale is beguling in its subtlety, woven with a wonderful understanding of language and the complexities of life while sparing nothing in power or passion. Glynne MacLean, Wellington NZ.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Patchy, ranging from average to excellent, March 2, 2001

By 

AA "ashour001" (Newton, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops (Paperback)

This is a fascinating collection of short stories. Nearly all are very readable without once checking how many pages you have left.

The first few stories depend primarily on the plot, and to an extent the element of surprise or shock. Don't read reviews that take you step by step into every story. You as a reader can never really guess where Hanan Al Sheikh is going with her plot, until all of a sudden, wham here it is, a surprise, and sure enough it does flow. I felt these were very clever but generally not may favorite.

Several stories were not as dependent on the element of surprise and were truly enjoyable portrayal of people, feelings, scenery and situations. Some of these especially those of a Lebanese Woman in London having fled the Civil war and another of a Lebanese woman from London visiting Egypt were very well done. Hanan Al Sheikh still managed to insert a surprising end, but you could enjoy both stories regardless of the ending.

I am unsure if the author insistence on a clever plot for her short stories is part of the Arabic tradition of the plot, or just her own personal style. I personally would have liked it more if she just let her imagination roam, paint a situation without necessarily having to be obsessed with l Arabic Literature tradition of "habekah"

A relatively long story of a Danish missionary worker to Yemen was my least favorite, even though I still enjoyed it. In general I felt the author was a much better and more genuine portraying Arab woman.

Hanan Al Sheikh portrayal of life in Egypt, Lebanon, and Yemen and of immigrant life in UK and Africa came across vivid. She dealt with many difficult and up to the last 15 years or so taboo issues.

The translation was superb, often when reading translated work, it is hard to appreciate intelligent and sensitive prose. Here that was not the case at all, in fact it is very difficult to conceive of some of the stories as translated work at all.

Overall I highly recommend this collection of short stories. If you do like this book, you will definitely enjoy Sana Hassan, Leila Ahmed and Ahdaf Souief, who..., unlike Hanan Al Sheikh, write in English.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Her Best Work..., June 17, 2001

By 

"berwynne" (Freeport, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops (Paperback)

After having read and taught the book, "Women of Sand and Myrrh," I expected more from this collection of short stories. While there are a couple of really shining gems in this collection -- notably the story "A Season of Madness" -- there are many stories which are patly superfluous, and contain very little in the way of plot or character development. Hanan al-Shaykh has the potential to write heart-rending, unforgettable stories -- but this volume is not the best representation of her abilities.