A Girl Made of Dust - Softcover

Abi-Ezzi, Nathalie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080214487X ISBN 13: 9780802144874

Publisher: Grove Press, 2010

Synopsis

A Girl Made of Dust is a sophisticated exploration of one family’s private battle to survive in the midst of civil war.
In her peaceful town outside Beirut, Ruba is slowly awakening to the shifting contours within her household: hardly speaking and refusing to work, her father has inexplicably withdrawn from his family; her once-youthful mother looks so sad that Ruba imagines her heart must have withered like a fig in the heat; and Ruba’s older brother has begun to secretly meet with older boys who carry guns. When Ruba decides that to salvage her family she must first save her father, she uncovers a long-buried secret that will send her on a journey away from the safety of childhood and into a brutal reality where men kill in the name of faith and race, past wrongs remain unforgiven, and where nothing less than courageous acts of sacrifice and unity can offer survival.
A Girl Made of Dust is a coming-of-age story sparked, but not consumed, by violence and loss. This strikingly assured debut captures both a country and a childhood plagued by a conflict that even at its darkest and most threatening, carries the promise of healing and retribution.

About this title

Review:

‘I adored “A Girl Made of Dust”. It touched my heart in so many ways. When I picked it up to read I was compelled to finish – I could not put it down. It was at once tender and tragic and Nathalie Abi-Ezzi wonderfully evoked that transient aspect of childhood where everything is possible. It is a book that begs to be re-read. The first time I rushed through to get to the end and the second time I slowed down to more fully appreciate the lovely language and authentic setting that Nathalie Abi-Ezzi created. “A Girl Made of Dust” is one of those books you can't help but think about long after you finish. A truly remarkable story.’ Patricia Wood, author of ‘Lottery’, shortlisted for the 2008 Orange Prize

‘Captivating. A subtle, pertinent depiction of civilian life in the midst of bewildering conflict.’ Catherine Taylor, Guardian

‘A timely evocation of civilian suffering underneath the ubiquities of war...Heart-breaking and profound.’ Sunday Business Post

‘A moving insight into brutal conflict.’ Financial Times

‘Unnervingly real and gripping. Abi-Ezzi skilfully introduces the reader to a life in fear of bombs and stray bullets, as well as how new hope can be born from affliction.’ Ingrid Lamprecht, 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 R.L. Stevenson, Wilkie Collins and Daphne du Maurier' (2003) and has co-edited various books for Usborne.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 080214487X
• ISBN 13: 9780802144874
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256