Staircase of a Thousand Steps [Paperback]

Masha Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2002

Set in Transjordan just before the 1967 war with Israel, Staircase of a Thousand Steps is a "remarkably well-written...thoroughly absorbing novel" (Arizona Daily Sun) that takes us to a place where memory whispers like fear, where visions of a long-ago forbidden love affair haunt a precocious young girl -- and where the flare of old rivalries can be as sudden as searing as the desert wind.

"The prose is simple but elegant, and subtle interweaving of the mystical and the mundane makes the novel delightfully compelling" (Library Journal)

"Engaging...Hamilton is a natural storyteller." (Publishers Weekly)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A precocious 11-year-old girl experiences an unsettling coming of age in a Jordanian village in this engaging first novel. Jammana, who possesses an ancestral gift that allows her to see the past, travels with her mother, Rafa, against her father's wishes, to Rafa's birthplace, the ancient village of Ein Fadr. It is 1966, and the desert region simmers with ethnic and religious tensions helicopters and military patrols are as much a part of the terrain as sand dunes and camels. In Ein Fadr a tightly knit group of families have lived together for generations, donkeys serve as transportation and the rule of Allah is strictly observed. Rafa's father, Harif, is a shepherd with his own psychic gift; he and Faridah, the village midwife, are much loved by Jammana. Harif's often disturbing prophecies have made him a suspicious figure in town, and Faridah has her own troubles as an independent woman. As Jammana attempts to understand the past, Harif and Faridah weave tales that bring long-buried secrets to light. When Rafa leaves her husband and hides in the caves above the village, tragedy strikes. Jammana who can't decide if she is cursed or blessed with her growing powers is forced to decide her loyalties and learn what betrayal means. Hamilton is a natural storyteller: she weaves past and present artfully together, the narrative moves at a good clip and the mysticism throughout is rendered believably. Readers eager for a much different take on small-town hurts and rivalries will be intrigued by how these elements play out in this sheltered corner of the world. (May 21)Forecast: This is one of four first novels kicking off Penguin's BlueHen imprint, which aims to bring literary fiction to a wider audience. The editors have made a wise choice with this debut, though a drab jacket may deflect browsers.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Young Jammana, a principal character of Hamilton's eloquent first novel, possesses a familial gift that enables her to experience others' memories. Her grandfather displays an equally intuitive gift, allowing him to glimpse the future. Because of the mixed blessings their ancestral aptitude begets, they are, along with two others, outsiders in their fictional village. The others the older midwife, Faridah, and Jammana's mother, Rafa do not readily accept the conventional wisdom regarding the acceptable behavior of Muslim women, especially as decreed within the Transjordanian village of Ein Fadr, this narrative's setting. At the novel's end, Grandfather exhorts Jammana to remember that "Past and future are no more separate than the tree trunk from its branches." His statement confirms much about the inevitable and often perilous clash of established customs with modern or unfamiliar ways, resulting in a tension that Hamilton movingly and beautifully expresses throughout this superior debut. Highly recommended. Faye A. Chadwell, Univ. of Oregon Lib., Eugene
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Blue Hen Trade (May 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425185303
• ISBN-13: 978-0425185308
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #807,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Masha Hamilton is the author of four acclaimed novels, most recently 31 Hours (2009), an Indie Choice pick by independent booksellers, which Publisher's Weekly called "gorgeous and complex." "You don't just read this gut-wrenching book; you become part of it in a deep, primal way," wrote StyleSubstanceSoul.com founder Lois Alter Mark. Hamilton is also the founder of two world literacy programs: the Camel Book Drive, begun in 2007 to supply a camel-borne library in northeastern Kenya, and the Afghan Women's Writing Project, begun in 2009 to foster creative and intellectual exchange between Afghan women writers and American women authors and teachers.

Her previous novels include Staircase of a Thousand Steps (2001), a Booksense pick by independent booksellers and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection; The Distance Between Us (2004), named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal; and The Camel Bookmobile (2007), also a Booksense pick. Booksense called it an excellent book club selection, and the New York Times said: "Hamilton makes us see how much is really at stake in a poverty-stricken place where every possession carries the weight of significance."

She worked as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press for five years in the Middle East, where she covered the intefadeh, the peace process and the partial Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Then she spent five years in Moscow, where she was a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, wrote a newspaper column, Postcard from Moscow, and reported for NBC/Mutual Radio. She wrote about Kremlin politics as well as life for average Russians under Gorbachev and Yeltsin during the coup and collapse of the Soviet Union. She reported from Afghanistan in 2004, and returned in 2008. In 2006, she traveled in Kenya to research The Camel Bookmobile and to interview street kids in Nairobi and drought and famine victims in the isolated northeast.

A Brown University graduate, she has been awarded fiction fellowships from Yaddo, Blue Mountain Center, Squaw Valley Community of Writers and the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She teaches for Gotham Writers' Workshop and has also taught at the 92nd Street Y in New York City and at a number of writers' workshops around the country. She is a licensed shiatsu practitioner and lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Work of Genius, May 19, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Staircase of a Thousand Steps (Hardcover)

Rarely have I have read a novel as compelling as "Staircase of a Thousand Steps." The writing is as good as writing gets. The plot draws us into the magical life of a Primordial Village (a fictional Palestinian/Islamic town) during the years 1929-1967, a place revealed through three protagonists, & a handful of other figures, each unique. Here: past, present and future intersect through fine imagery and almost perfect prose. "Staircase" is rich with visual, emotional and sensuous details, reveals how complex ancestral relationships explode in surprising ways. I strongly suggest that you do Not miss this powerful reading experience, a book that reminds us why we read. A first novel? Truly Hard to Believe!!!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in a long time..., June 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Staircase of a Thousand Steps (Hardcover)

I picked this book up on a whim, thinking I would learn something more about the region that's been so much in the news lately. It isn't really that kind of book; after all, the Middle East conflict is thousands of years old. Instead, I found a jewel of a novel. In some ways it reminds me of Demetria Martinez's MotherTongue, the poetry in the language -- it's also better, with a strong story line, characters that won't let you go, that are as real as your next door neighbor, even though they're not of my culture. I think I do understand Palestinians better, and it's hard to believe the author isn't Palestinian herself. Whether you pick it up on a whim, or on purpose, you won't put Staircase of a Thousand Steps down.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All The Reviewers Are Right!!, May 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Staircase of a Thousand Steps (Hardcover)

I had "Staircase of a Thousand Steps" on my night table, about three books down. Seeing the great editorial and customer reviews here, I was skeptical. Could a book be That Good? Yes, I just finished it (in a marathon reading session). It is: That Good. I agree with what all the reviewers, both professional and customers, have said. It has been one of the great reading experiences this year. I teach Middle East Studies here in Vermont and so must read a great deal about the area. But this transcends anything I've read to date because it is true fiction that also gives readers a window onto a distant time and place. Ms. Hamilton is, without question, a superior novelist. Her characters are perfectly created--they come fully alive on the page. Her book is: fascinating, captivating and most of all, intensely moving.