A Girl Made of Dust - Softcover

Abi-Ezzi, Nathalie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007259034 ISBN 13: 9780007259038

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2008

Synopsis

A rich and beautiful novel set during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, and based on the author's personal experiences of the conflict.

Ten-year-old Ruba lives in a village outside Beirut. From her family home, she can see the buildings shimmering on the horizon and the sea stretched out beside them. She can also hear the rumble of the shelling – this is Lebanon in the 1980s and civil war is tearing the country apart.

Ruba however has her own worries. Her father hardly ever speaks and spends most of his days sitting in his armchair, avoiding work and family. Her mother looks so sad that Ruba thinks her heart might have withered in the heat like a fig. Her elder brother, Naji, has started to spend his time with older boys – and some of them have guns.

When Ruba decides she has to save her father, and when she uncovers his secret, she begins a journey which takes her from childhood to the beginnings of adulthood. As Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, she realises that she may not be able to keep her family safe.

This is a first novel with tremendous heart, which captures both a country and a childhood in turmoil.

About this title

Review:

"I adored 'A Girl Made of Dust'...I could not put it down...It is a book that begs to be re-read."
-- Patricia Wood, author of 'Lottery', shortlisted for 2008 Orange Prize

'...A subtle, pertinent depiction of civilian life in the midst of bewildering conflict.' -- Catherine Taylor, Guardian

'...Abi-Ezzi skilfully introduces the reader to a life in fear of bombs and stray bullets, as well as to how new hope can be born from affliction.'
-- Socialist Review

About the Author:

Born in 1972 in the Metn region of Lebanon, Nathalie and her family moved to England in 1983 when Israel invaded Lebanon. She won the Radio 4 Dotdotdot short story competition in 2001. She is the author of 'The Double in the Fiction of RL Stevenson, Wilkie Collins and Daphne du Maurier' (2003) and has co-edited various books for Usborne.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0007259034
• ISBN 13: 9780007259038
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240