Set in late nineteenth-century Benghazi, Najwa Bin Shatwan's
powerful novel tells the story of Atiqa, the daughter of a slave
woman and her white master. We meet Atiqa as a grown woman, happily
married with two children and working. When her cousin Ali
unexpectedly enters her life, Atiqa learns the true identity of her
parents, both long deceased, and slowly builds a friendship with
Ali as they share stories of their past. We learn of Atiqa's
childhood, growing up in the "slave yards," a makeshift encampment
on the outskirts of Benghazi for Black Africans who were brought to
Libya as slaves. Ali narrates the tragic life of Atiqa's mother,
Tawida, a black woman enslaved to a wealthy merchant family who
finds herself the object of her master's desires. Though such
unions were common in slave-holding societies, their relationship
intensifies as both come to care deeply for each other and share a
bond that endures throughout their lives. Shortlisted for the 2017
International Prize for Arabic Ficiton, Bin Shatwan's unforgettable
novel offers a window into a dark chapter of Libyan history and
illuminates the lives of women with great pathos and humanity.
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