Brilliant, insightful and sensitively told novel that shatters the taboos surrounding the massacres perpetrated in northern Lebanon during the late 1950s, with a blend of realism, caricature and subtle irony.
Douaihy's detailed sensitive account of that society is halfway between realism and caricature, a tribute to his hometown, a detailed record of a part of its history that is still unmentionable, and a legacy to its daughters and sons. However dramatic the context and story, Jabbour Douaihy's sense of humor is still perceptible. His sarcastic and affectionate eye grasps the essential absurdity and cruelty of a situation, too often observed in different parts of the world.
