Items related to A Sky So Close: A Novel
Synopsis
This haunting coming-of-age story about a girl growing up in wartime Iraq was the subject of heated controversy when it was published in the Middle East; now in English, it offers American readers a rare chance to experience an Iraqi childhood.
The frank, determined narrator is a schoolgirl living in a small town in the Iraqi countryside when the book opens. Torn between the cultures of her parents, she loves the simple pleasures of provincial life in her father’s native land but, at the urging of her English mother, she is thrown into the study of Western music and ballet and becomes a devoted dancer by the time the family relocates to Baghdad. Even as the city around her is transformed by the blackouts and
deprivations of the war between Iran and Iraq, she propels herself passionately through the full range of teenage discovery. The death of her father, her first love affair, and her mother’s unexpected illness carry her into adulthood and ultimately to London, where she confronts, with surprising results, the other half of her East–West legacy.
A Sky So Close is a captivating look at contemporary Iraq from the inside out—a stunning re-creation of the surreality of life during wartime, and the story of a young woman coming to terms with the seemingly unbridgeable cultures from which she is formed.
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From the Back Cover
"This novel is not just about Iraq; it is about childhood, racism, despair, the abyss between East and West, and, above all, how to succeed in surpassing these, using a crucial survival kit: love, the pursuit of freedom, art, resilience. All of this comes to us in a modern, captivating style from a fresh, new voice in Arab literature."
--Hanan Al-Shaykh, author of Women of Sand and Myrrh and I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops
About the Author
Betool Khedairi was born in Baghdad in 1965 to an Iraqi father and a Scottish mother. She received a B.A. in French literature from the University of Mustansirya and then traveled between Iraq, Jordan, and the United Kingdom, working in the food industry while writing A Sky So Close, which was published in Arabic in Lebanon in 1999. She currently lives in Amman, where she is working on her second novel.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPantheon
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 0375420967
- ISBN 13 9780375420962
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages256
- Rating
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A Sky So Close (First Edition)
Published by
Pantheon, New York, 2001
ISBN 10: 0375420967
ISBN 13: 9780375420962
Used
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First Edition
Seller: Dan Pope Books, West Hartford, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. New York: Pantheon [2001]. First American edition. First printing. Hardbound. Fine in a fine jacket. Red remainder dot top edge SALE. Seller Inventory # dec10
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A Sky So Close: A Novel
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, 2001
ISBN 10: 0375420967
ISBN 13: 9780375420962
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: The Book Collector, Inc. ABAA, ILAB, Fort Worth, TX, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. 241 pages. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2") bound in original publisher's quarter black paper with silver lettering to spine over red boards in original pictorial wrappers. Translated by Muhayman Jamil. Review copy with material laid in. First edition. This haunting coming-of-age story about a girl growing up in wartime Iraq was the subject of heated controversy when it was published in the Middle East; now in English, it offers American readers a rare chance to experience an Iraqi childhood. The frank, determined narrator is a schoolgirl living in a small town in the Iraqi countryside when the book opens. Torn between the cultures of her parents, she loves the simple pleasures of provincial life in her father's native land but, at the urging of her English mother, she is thrown into the study of Western music and ballet and becomes a devoted dancer by the time the family relocates to Baghdad. Even as the city around her is transformed by the blackouts and deprivations of the war between Iran and Iraq, she propels herself passionately through the full range of teenage discovery. The death of her father, her first love affair, and her mother's unexpected illness carry her into adulthood and ultimately to London, where she confronts, with surprising results, the other half of her EastWest legacy. A Sky So Close is a captivating look at contemporary Iraq from the inside outa stunning re-creation of the surreality of life during wartime, and the story of a young woman coming to terms with the seemingly unbridgeable cultures from which she is formed. Condition: Fine in like jacket. Seller Inventory # L1011
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A Sky So Close: A Novel
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, NY, 2001
ISBN 10: 0375420967
ISBN 13: 9780375420962
Used
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Seller: Hourglass Books, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+, Not Price Clipped. American First. Complete number line from 1 to 9; minor wear; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition. Book. Seller Inventory # 011636
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A Sky So Close
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, 2001
ISBN 10: 0375420967
ISBN 13: 9780375420962
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Seller: zenosbooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
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paperback. Condition: Very Good in Wrappers. No Jacket. New York. 2001. July 2001. Pantheon Books. Uncorrected Bound Proof. Very Good in Wrappers. 0375420967. 1st Novel. Translated from the Arabic by Dr. Muhayman Jamil. 245 pages. paperback. Cover: Mark Wright/Lisa Hamilton. keywords: Middle East Iraq Literature Women Translated Arabic World Literature. DESCRIPTION - A rare look at contemporary Iraq from the inside out - a stunning re-creation of the surreality of life during wartime and the story of a young women coming to terms with two seemingly unbridgeable cultures from which she has been formed, English and Iraqi. inventory #28648. Seller Inventory # z28648
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A Sky So Close
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.9. Seller Inventory # G0375420967I4N00
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A SKY SO CLOSE. Translated From The Arabic By Dr. Muhayman Jamil.
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NY.2001. Pantheon Books., 2001
ISBN 10: 0375420967
ISBN 13: 9780375420962
Used
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First Edition
Seller: Chris Fessler, Bookseller, Howell, MI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
red & black hardbound 8vo. dustwrapper in protective plastic. very fine cond. mint cond. looks brand new. as new. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of all markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped. nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking , underlining, remainder markings etc ~first american edition so stated. first printing ( # 1 in # line). 241p. + author bio note acknowledgments. ~ This haunting coming~of~age story about a girl growing up in wartime Iraq was the subject of heated controversy when it was published in the Middle East; now in English, it offers American readers a rare chance to experience an Iraqi childhood. The frank, determined narrator is a schoolgirl living in a small town in the Iraqi countryside when the book opens. Torn between the cultures of her parents, she loves the simple pleasures of provincial life in her father's native land but, at the urging of her English mother, she is thrown into the study of Western music and ballet and becomes a devoted dancer by the time the family relocates to Baghdad. Even as the city around her is transformed by the blackouts and deprivations of the war between Iran and Iraq, she propels herself passionately through the full range of teenage discovery. The death of her father, her first love affair, and her mother's unexpected illness carry her into adulthood and ultimately to London, where she confronts, with surprising results, the other half of her East~West legacy. A Sky So Close is a captivating look at contemporary Iraq from the inside out~a stunning re~creation of the surreality of life during wartime, and the story of a young woman coming to terms with the seemingly unbridgeable cultures from which she is formed. world literature. novels. fiction. arabic literature. middle eastern literature.english literature. Seller Inventory # 11221102
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A Sky So Close
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, 2001
ISBN 10: 0375420967
ISBN 13: 9780375420962
Used
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First Edition
Seller: Hackenberg Booksellers ABAA, El Cerrito, CA, U.S.A.
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1st American Edition. 241 [4]p., dj. Seller Inventory # 022624
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A Sky So Close: A Novel
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Hardcover. Condition: As New. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Fine in Fine dust jacket. First American edition. Seller Inventory # bing8058780
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A Sky So Close (First Edition)
Published by
Pantheon, New York, 2001
ISBN 10: 0375420967
ISBN 13: 9780375420962
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Dan Pope Books, West Hartford, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. New York: Pantheon [2001]. First edition. First printing. Hardbound. New! Very fine/Very fine in all respects. A pristine unread copy. Comes with acid-free mylar dust jacket protector. Purchased new and never opened. "K"/F4100. Seller Inventory # CASE2-509
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