<<The>> Salmiya collection stories of the life and times of modern Kuwait

In The Salmiya Collection, Loomis celebrates the essence of everyday life in a little-known part of the world. With lucid prose and keen detail, these stories offer nuanced portraits—tragicomic, bittersweet, and candid—of ordinary Kuwaitis: expatriates and natives, students and professors, siblings, and lovers. In "Ancient Civilization 101," a young man suspects his girlfriend Mariam is unfaithful and, in a fury, shears her long hair. The confidence and boldness in Mariam that first attracted him is now seen as a threat. In "The Conference on Rights and Freedom," two young students invited to present their paper at an academic conference in the United States share with their professor their dramatic plan to "show them who we are." Each of the forty stories in the collection reverberates with the others, illuminating a world the reader will not soon forget. Loomis renders a Kuwaiti society that is complex and distinct, and yet the characters and situations unveil a time and a place that is universal. In The Salmiya Collection , Loomis celebrates the essence of everyday life in a little-known part of the world. With lucid prose and keen detail, these stories offer nuanced portraitstragicomic, bittersweet, and candidof ordinary Kuwaitis: expatriates and natives, students and professors, siblings and lovers. In "Ancient Civilization 101," a young man suspects his girlfriend Mariam is unfaithful and, in a fury, shears her long hair when the confidence and boldness that first attracted him to her becomes a threat. In "The Conference on Rights and Freedom," two young students invited to present their paper at an academic conference in the United States share with their professor their dramatic plan to "show them who we are." Each of the forty-six stories in the collection resonates with the others, illuminating a world that will linger with the reader long after the last sentence. Loomis renders a Kuwaiti society that is complex and distinct, while his characters and situations unveil a time and a place that is universal. In this collection, the author celebrates the essence of everyday life in a little-known part of the world. These stories offer nuanced portraits - tragicomic, bittersweet, and candid - of ordinary Kuwaitis: expatriates and natives, students and professors, siblings, and lovers. In "Ancient Civilization 101," a young man suspects his girlfriend Mariam is unfaithful and, in a fury, shears her long hair. The confidence and boldness in Mariam that first attracted him is now seen as a threat. In "The Conference on Rights and Freedom," two young students invited to present their paper at an academic conference in the United States share with their professor their dramatic plan to "show them who we are." Each of the forty stories in the collection reverberates with the others, illuminating a world the reader will not soon forget. The author renders a Kuwaiti society that is complex and distinct, and yet the characters and situations unveil a time and a place that is universal These stories celebrate everyday life and offer nuanced portraits of ordinary Kuwaitis: expatriates and natives, students and professors, siblings, and lovers. In 'Ancient Civilization 101,' a young man suspects his girlfriend Mariam is unfaithful and, in a fury, shears her long hair. The confidence and boldness in Mariam that first attracted him is now seen as a threat. In 'The Conference on Rights and Freedom,' two young students invited to present their paper at an academic conference in the United States share with their professor their dramatic plan to 'show them who we are.' This is a grouping of some 40 short stories that attempts to capture the essence of everyday life in the small Middle East country of Kuwait. The stories explore life in Kuwait from an American expatriate's perspective.