Ruins of Us - Softcover

Parssinen, Keija

3.64

1,596 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571282725 ISBN 13: 9780571282722

Publisher: Faber & Faber Ome, 2012

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More than two decades after moving to Saudi Arabia and marrying Abdullah Baylani, Rosalie learns that her husband has taken a second wife, beautiful Palestinian Isra. The discovery plunges the powerful family into chaos as Rosalie grapples with leaving Saudi Arabia, her life, and her family behind. Driven by anger and heartache, she plots her departure, soliciting fellow American and Abdullah's best friend, lonely divorce Dan Coleman, to help her. Meanwhile, Abdullah and Rosalie's consuming personal entanglements blind them to the crisis approaching their sixteen-year-old son Faisal, whose deepening resentment towards their lifestyle has led to his growing involvement with a controversial Sheikh. When Faisal makes an ill-fated choice that could destroy everything his embattled family holds dear, all must confront difficult truths as they fight to preserve what remains of their love.

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From the Back Cover:

More than two decades after moving to Saudi Arabia and marrying powerful Abdullah Baylani, American-born Rosalie learns that her husband has taken a second wife. That discovery plunges their family into chaos as Rosalie grapples with leaving Saudi Arabia, her life, and her family behind. Meanwhile, Abdullah and Rosalie’s consuming personal entanglements blind them to the crisis approaching their sixteen-year-old son, Faisal, whose deepening resentment toward their lifestyle has led to his involvement with a controversial sheikh. When Faisal makes a choice that could destroy everything his embattled family holds dear, all must confront difficult truths as they fight to preserve what remains of their world.

The Ruins of Us is a timely story about intolerance, family, and the injustices we endure for love that heralds the arrival of an extraordinary new voice in contemporary fiction.

About the Author:

Keija Parssinen was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for twelve years as a third generation expatriate. She earned a degree in English literature from Princeton University and received her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she held a Truman Capote fellowship and a Teaching and Writing fellowship. For The Ruins of Us, her first novel, she received a Michener-Copernicus award. She lives with her husband on the edge of a quarry in Columbia, Missouri.

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