Inshallah [Hardcover]

Oriana Fallaci (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1992

A young Italian solder who witnessed the assault on the American Marine barracks in Beirut narrates a tale of French, American, and Italian soldiers, Arabs living lives of desperation, and the women in their lives. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Civil war-torn Beirut is the setting for Fallaci's ( A Man ) latest work, a powerful, labyrinthine study of human character in apocalyptic circumstances. The novel takes place in the fall of 1983, when a barracks bombing killed dozens of U.S. Marines. At the headquarters of the Italian peacekeeping contingent, a rich cast of characters confronts the unpredictable brutality of religious conflict. The unit's general, called Condor; Charlie, a self-styled counterespionage agent; Pistoira, a swaggering killer; Sugar, the bookish munitions expert, and other uniformed misfits struggle to survive an impossible mission. Rendering the complex antagonisms of contemporary Beirut, Fallaci shows a talent for incisively capturing classic human foibles, as one beleaguered soldier after another tries to negotiate the cultural borders of a chaotic city. In the novel's climactic scenes, the Italian troops, like the well-meaning armies of other nations, are obliged to withdraw before an inferno of religious fanaticism. In prose dense with details and asides, Fallaci starkly conveys Beirut's nihilistic atmosphere; her depiction of the futility of combat is acerbic, and her narrative fully reflects the ironies that emerge when men behave like beasts.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 599 pages
• Publisher: Nan A. Talese; 1st edition (November 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385419872
• ISBN-13: 978-0385419871
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Italian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, October 7, 2006

By 

J. Levine - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inshallah (Hardcover)

I spent the first half of this book wishing Ms. Fallaci had had a more engaged editor and wondering if this book was a better read in Italian.
I spent the last half of the book thankful Ms. Fallaci hadn't let anyone edit away any part of her amazing book. I was mesmerized by her stunning description of Beirut and War. One can't help but read it and think of Baghdad, the American troops and the Iraqi insurgency. Read it.

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it must be wondeful, June 2, 2000

By 

"liloofe" (iran) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inshallah (Hardcover)

It makes me thinking of women's future...in the other word humanity's future....like her other books....Specially in the middle-east.... I started to read her books very early, when i was 13 and now I'm 29...She always help me feel that I'm not lonely in this world. Ifeel a common sense.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Recommended by a wonderful reader; paperback is rough to even see, October 11, 2011

By 

readernyc "readernyc" (New York City, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inshallah (Hardcover)

Okay, it's really not fair to the great Oriana to diss a book I simply could not get into. Perhaps that was because the print in the long paperback was unusually small. Or perhaps it was just too much info. I made it through 25 pages and said, "Either I am not smart enough or this is just horrible." Still do not know which reason is true.

PS no, this is not a review of the hardcover, but the paperback!