The Cry of the Dove

An "exquisitely woven" novel of love, exile, and violated honor among a Bedouin tribe from the Jordanian-British author and human rights activist (Leila Aboulela).

Salma has committed a crime considered punishable by death among her Bedouin tribe of Hima in the Levant: she had sex out of wedlock and became pregnant. When Salma gives birth to the child, she suddenly finds herself a fugitive on the run from those seeking to restore their honor.

Though she is placed in protective custody, Salma's newborn child is ripped from her arms upon arrival. Devastated and disowned, she endures years of isolation before she is ushered to safety in Exeter, England, where she faces a new set of social pressures and expectations. With the help of an elderly English landlady and a Pakistani girl on the run from an arranged marriage, Salma is finally able to forge a new identity.

But just as she settles into her new life, the need to return for her lost daughter overwhelms her, and one fateful day, Salma goes back to her village to find the girl. It is a journey that risks everything.

Fadia Faqir is the author of two other novels, Nisanit and Pillars of Salt. In 1990 the University of East Anglia awarded her the first PhD in Critical and Creative Writing. Brought up in Amman, she now lives with her husband in Durham, England.