An Unnecessary Woman (Paperback)

Rabih Alameddine

ISBN 10: 1472119207 / ISBN 13: 9781472119209

Published by Little, Brown Book Group, London, 2015

About this Item

Paperback. Aaliya Saleh lives alone in her Beirut apartment, surrounded by stockpiles of books. Godless, fatherless, childless, and divorced, Aaliya is her familys 'unnecessary appendage'. Every year, she translates a new favourite book into Arabic, then stows it away. The thirty-seven books that Aaliya has translated over her lifetime have never been read - by anyone.This breathtaking portrait of a reclusive woman follows Aaliyas digressive mind as it ricochets across visions of past and present Beirut. Colourful musings on literature, philosophy, and art are invaded by memories of the Lebanese Civil War and Aaliyas own volatile past. As she tries to overcome her ageing body and spontaneous emotional upwellings, Aaliya is faced with an unthinkable disaster that threatens to shatter the little life she has left.A love letter to literature and its power to define who we are, the prodigiously gifted Rabih Alameddine has given us a magnificent rendering of one woman's life in the Middle East. Rabih Alameddine follows his international bestseller The Hakawati with an enchanting story of the life of a book-loving, obsessive, seventy-two-year-old, blue-haired 'unnecessary woman', living in Beirut. This is a novel to savour. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781472119209

Bibliographic Details

• Title: An Unnecessary Woman (Paperback)
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group, London
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1472119207
• ISBN 13: 9781472119209
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Aaliya saleh lives alone in her beirut apartment, surrounded by stockpiles of books. Godless, fatherless, childless, and divorced, aaliya is her family's 'unnecessary appendage'. Every year, she translates a new favourite book into arabic, then stows it away. The thirty-seven books that aaliya has translated over her lifetime have never been read - by anyone. This breathtaking portrait of a reclusive woman follows aaliya's digressive mind as it ricochets across visions of past and present beirut. Colourful musings on literature, philosophy, and art are invaded by memories of the lebanese civil war and aaliya's own volatile past. As she tries to overcome her ageing body and spontaneous emotional upwellings, aaliya is faced with an unthinkable disaster that threatens to shatter the little life she has left. A love letter to literature and its power to define who we are, the prodigiously gifted rabih alameddine has given us a magnificent rendering of one woman's life in the middle east.

About the Author

Rabih Alameddine is the author of the novels Koolaids, and I, the Divine, The Hakawati, the story collection, The Perv, and most recently, An Unnecessary Woman. He divides his time between San Francisco and Beirut.