The story of Zahra : [a novel

Zahras mother uses her as a cover for her meetings with a lover; Zahras strict father mistreats her for being complicit in her mothers affair. Fleeing from Beirut in search of solace, Zahra stays with her uncle in West Africaand then uses marriage as another kind of escape. Back in Beirut, love finally comes to her, but with terrible consequences. Banned in several Middle Eastern countries since its original publication, The Story of Zahra is an intoxicating, provocative story of a young womans coming of age in a city torn apart by war. With more than 21,000 copies in print of "Women Of Sand And Myrrh," and more than 15,000 copies of "The Story Of Zahra," Hanan al-Shaykh is the best known and most admired woman writer of the Arab world. The paperback publication of "Zahra" will bring this passionate and courageous novel to a much larger group of readers. Its haunting story of a young Lebanese woman who attempts to stem the violence in Beirut by initiating a sexual liaison with a sniper has "lifted the corner of a dark curtain" ( "Sunday Telegraph" ) from a world that fascinates us all." "The Story Of Zahra" is a classic by any standards."-- "Village Voice Literary Supplement." "This rich tale mesmerizes with its frank sexuality and scenes of war-torn Beirut."-- "Publishers Weekly." "Considered by many to be the Arab world's leading female novelist, Hanan al-Shaykh's reputation has just begun to blossom in this country. The publication last year of Women of Sand and Myrrh - her first novel to be published in the U.S. - was greeted with widespread excitement. Now comes the haunting and erotically charged The Story of Zahra, which, because of its courageous and frank treatment of personal, sexual, and political themes, remains, fourteen years after its original publication, banned in several Arab countries. This vividly imagined and gripping portrayal of a contemporary woman's life in war-torn Beirut is certain to considerably expand her readership here in the U.S." "Zahra, a child of the Shia community in South Lebanon, is haunted by dark memories of deception and abuse by her parents. She flees her family and takes refuge with an uncle who is in political exile in West Africa. She finds no peace there however, and desperately enters into a loveless and doomed marriage. Dispirited and emotionally unstable, she returns to Beirut where civil war is raging. She enters a world in which explosions, shootings, and arbitrary death are commonplace. In a demented effort to stem the violence, she begins an affair with a sniper to divert him from his task. It is only then that she finds redemption, a strange fulfillment of her search for ecstasy, and a dream of how life could be, should the war ever end."--BOOK JACKET. Front Cover ......Page 1 Also by Hanan al-Shaykh ......Page 2 Title Page ......Page 3 Copyright ......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 5 Book One: The Scars of Peace......Page 9 1. Zahra Remembers......Page 11 2. Zahra in Africa......Page 25 3. Uncle......Page 50 4. Husband ......Page 81 5. Zahra in Wedlock ......Page 101 Book Two: The Torrents of War ......Page 129 Glossary......Page 7 Back Cover ......Page 226 Zahra, a young Lebanese woman haunted by memories of abuse by her parents, enters into a loveless marriage in West Africa and then returns to war-torn Beirut Hanan Al-shaykh ; [rendered Into English By Peter Ford With The Author's Co-operation]. First Published In English By Quartet Books Limited U.k. In 1986. Haunted by dark memories of deception and abuse by her parents, Zahra begins an affair with a sniper to divert him from his task