The Gertrude Bell Jar

Stone of Laughter/Hoda Barakat

The Stone of Laughter by Hoda Barakat, translated by Sophie Bennett.

A novel set in Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, which traces the personal transformation of an apolitical observer in the person of a 20-ish gay teacher named Khalil into an active combatant. Barakat's elliptical style is frustrating at times, and I'm not sure if re-reading would clarify some passages (as some of the Amazon reviews seemed to imply), or make Khalil's transformation (the change is signalled by his rape of a female neighbor) seem less sudden and unmotivated. As those who read the long quote from this novel that I posted earlier will understand, the novel is depressing enough that I doubt I'll be putting that to the test. Barakat does capture the emotional effects of living in a city under siege very well, and the novel is worth reading on that count alone, I think.

Woman at Point Zero/Nawal el Saadawi

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal el Saadawi.

This novel is loosely based on a series of interviews Saadawi conducted with imprisoned women as part of her work with the Health Ministry. It traces the tragic history of an orphaned girl, molested by the uncle who takes her in, sold in marriage to a much older man when the uncle marries, and forced into a life of prostitution when she flees the marriage. She lands in jail and is sentenced to death when she eventually kills her pimp. More didactic than I generally like my fiction, but there are some affecting moments.