A History of the Big House
- Auteur: Charif Majdalani (Libanon)
- Soort boek: Libanese roman
- Origineel: Histoire de la grande maison (2005)
- Engelse vertaling: Ruth Diver
- Uitgever: Other Press
- Verschijnt: 17 december 2024
- Omvang: 400 pagina’s
- Uitgave: paperback / ebook
- Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Boekhandel / Bol
Charif Majdalani A History of the Big House review, recensie en informatie
- “This is what happens when poets write history; Majdalani weaves facts and dreams, the lives of men and nations, real and imagined, the smell of orange trees, of strong, black coffee on a Levantine morning—you can almost taste it. I could see that big house; I recognized it. This book took me home.” (Yara Zgheib, Libanese schrijver)
- “Deliberately paced and carefully written: a memorable evocation of a distant but not irrecoverable time.” (Kirkus Reviews)
- “Majdalani’s novels are much praised in the Francophone world, and with good reason. His seductive prose twists and turns…gracefully drawing on Arabic storytelling traditions while offering a modern narrative crackling with razor-sharp humor.” (New York Times Book Review)
- “Majdalani immerses the reader in a tinted world of djellabas, caravans, daggers, banquets, and palanquins…[He] renders the complex social landscape of the Middle East and North Africa with subtlety and finesse.” (Wall Street Journal)
Flaptekst van de roman van de Libanese schrijver Charif Majdalani
This vibrant family saga chronicles the rise and fall of the Nassar clan, as they navigate the great events of the 20th century in Lebanon, from the Ottoman Empire to the French Mandate.
At the end of the 19th century, a man is forced to flee his village after a quarrel. Starting over with nothing, the banished, audacious Wakim Nassar will create orange plantations on the outskirts of Beirut and become the head of a large clan, feared and respected. The great house he builds at their center will become a powerful symbol of the Nassars’ glory, admired from afar. But this decadence is short-lived, battered by the First World War, illness, family tragedy, and the shifting regimes that control Lebanon. As circumstances compel Wakim’s descendants, one by one, to leave the house, it falls into ruin.
A rich, sweeping tale full of unforgettable characters and anchored in historical fact, A History of the Big House captures the unique experience of the Lebanese people through this family’s triumphs and struggles.
Charif Majdalani was born in Beirut Lebanon in 1960 and is one of the most important figures in Lebanese literature today. After living in France for thirteen years, he returned to Lebanon in 1993 and now teaches French literature at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut. His novel Moving the Palace won the 2008 François Mauriac Prize from the Académie Française as well as the Prix Tropiques. His previous book Beirut 2020: Diary of the Collapse was published by Other Press in 2021.