The Bamboo Stalk

Alsanousi, Saud

ISBN 10: 153664000X ISBN 13: 9781536640007

Publisher: Audible Studios on Brilliance audio, 2017

Synopsis

Josephine escapes poverty by coming to Kuwait from the Philippines to work as a maid, where she meets Rashid, an idealistic only son with literary aspirations.

Josephine, with all the wide-eyed naivety of youth, believes she has found true love. But when she becomes pregnant, and with the rumble of war growing ever louder, Rashid bows to family and social pressure and sends her back home with her baby son, Jos. Brought up struggling with his dual identity, Jos clings to the hope of returning to his father's country when he is 18. He is ill prepared to plunge headfirst into a world where the fear of tyrants and dictators is nothing compared to the fear of what will people say. And with a Filipino face, a Kuwaiti passport, an Arab surname, and a Christian first name, will his father's country welcome him?

The Bamboo Stalk takes an unflinching look at the lives of foreign workers in Arab countries and confronts the universal problems of identity, race, and religion.

About this title

Review:

Ambitious, cultivated and brave (Financial Times)

Alsanousi is a voice of conscience (Boyd Tonkin The Independent)

I was captivated from the first chapter. We need such literature. Alsanousi is an important emerging literary voice (Susan Abulhawa, author of Mornings in Jenin)

Great wit and lightness of touch. Truly cosmopolitan and deeply humane (Robin Yassin-Kabab, author of The Road from Damascus The National)

Engrossing, political and heartfelt (Bidisha)

A bold, heart-felt indictment against racism in Arab society. A narrative with power and resonance, which captivates the reader with its artful simplicity and its endearing protagonist (Leila Aboulela, prize-winning author of Lyrics Alley)

Book Description:

'Ambitious, cultivated and brave' - Financial Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Audible Studios on Brilliance audio
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 153664000X
• ISBN 13: 9781536640007
• Binding: MP3 CD