Silken Gazelles
- Auteur: Jokha Alharthi (Oman)
- Soort boek: Omaanse roman, Arabische roman
- Origineel: Harir al-Ghazala (2021)
- Engelse vertaling: Marilyn Booth
- Uitgever: Catapult
- Verschijnt: 13 augustus 2024
- Omvang: 272 pagina’s
- Uitgave: gebonden boek / ebook
- Prijs: $ 27,00
- Boek bestellen >
Jokha Alharthi Silken Gazelles recensie en review
- “In Alharthi’s world, it’s not only the future that holds promise; the past has possibility and opportunities for revision, too.” (The New York Times Book Review)
Flaptekst van de roman van de Omaanse schrijfster Jokha Alharthi
From Man Booker International Prize-winning author of Celestial Bodies and Bitter Orange Tree, a new novel about two Omani women whose unbreakable connection is forged as nursing sisters—a bond considered akin to that of a birth sibling.
Raised as sisters, Ghazaala is devastated when her friend Asiya is forced to leave their small mountainside village following a tragic circumstance. It’s a separation that haunts her into adulthood, and she never gives up on finding a love that might replace the bond they shared.
Years later, Ghazaala’s family moves to Muscat, where she falls in love with a professional violinist who lives in their building. She completely surrenders herself to his charm and, despite her parents’ opposition, runs away from home to marry him. While balancing the duties of a new wife—caring for her husband, their home, and, before long, their twin boys—Ghazaala resumes her education and enrolls in university.
Ghazaala’s sharp wit catches the attention of another student, Harir, during their freshman year. In the pages of her diary, Harir recounts the story of her deepening, transformative friendship with Ghazaala over the course of ten years. The elusive, ghostly existence of Asiya exerts a force over both their lives, yet neither Ghazaala nor Harir is aware of the connection. From the brilliant mind of Jokha Alharthi comes a tale of childhood friendship, and how its significance—and loss—can be recalibrated at different stages of life.
Jokha Alharthi (1978, Oman) is the first Omani woman to have a novel translated into English, and Celestial Bodies is the first book translated from Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize. She is the author of two previous collections of short fiction, a children’s book, and three novels in Arabic. Fluent in English, she completed a PhD in Classical Arabic Poetry in Edinburgh, and teaches at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat. She has been shortlisted for the Sahikh Zayed Award for Young Writers and her short stories have been published in English, German, Italian, Korean, and Serbian.