This collection of 17 short stories translated from Arabic, written
by a renowned Lebanese author now living in London, mostly revolves
around love and sex in a world where traditions are deeply rooted
and customs and beliefs are not to be dismissed. In the opening
story, 'A Season of Madness', a young wife pretends to be insane to
escape from her loveless marriage, but is shocked by the outcome of
her deceit. With its wit and insight this is the best tale in the
book, but they are all of high quality. The central characters are
mostly female but vary enormously, from Lebanese women fleeing from
the civil war to a Danish missionary in Yemen becoming increasingly
involved with the local people in 'The Land of Dreams'. The clash
of East and West and old and new ideals is another major theme,
seen in 'The White Peacock of Holland Park' and 'One Evening in
Alexandria', in which a woman is torn between her sophisticated
lover in Alexandria and her demanding family in Beirut.
Occasionally the basis for a story is a little too flimsy for its
length, but overall this is a delicate and poignant collection of
unexpected power, beautifully translated by Catharine Cobham.
(Kirkus UK)
At the intersection of tradition and modernity, East and West,
childhood and adulthood, Hanan al-Shaykh's characters find their
way through the shifting and ambiguous power relationships that
shape the landscape of the modern Arab world. A woman feigns
insanity to escape from an empty marriage, only to have her plans
backfire; a young Danish missionary finds herself slowly and
inexorably drawn into the world of the Yemeni village where she has
been stationed; and a woman's lighthearted attempt to contact the
world of the dead turns serious when she encounters the spirit of
her late husband. At once clever and evocative, I SWEEP THE SUN OFF
ROOFTOPS is a collection of great insight, wit and poignancy,
placing Hanan al-Shaykh among the foremost cosmopolitan writers of
our time.
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