Absent by Betool Khedairi

Absent by Betool Khedairi

Dalal is a young woman living in a crowded Baghdad apartment with the childless aunt and uncle who raised her. In the same building, Umm Mazin, a fortune-teller, offers her customers cures for their physical and romantic ailments, Saad the hairdresser attends to a dwindling number of female customers, and Ilham, a nurse, escapes the stark realities of her hospital job in dreams of her long-lost French mother. Despite the damaging effects of bombings and international sanctions on their world, all the residents try to maintain normal lives.

Hoping to bring in much-needed cash by selling honey, Dalal's uncle becomes a beekeeper, enlisting Dalal's help in the care of these temperamental creatures. Meanwhile, Dalal falls in love for the first time-against a background of surprise arrests, personal betrayals, and a crumbling social fabric that turns neighbors into informants.

Tightly crafted and full of vivid, unforgettable characters, Absent is a haunting portrait of life under restrictions, the fragile emotional ties among family and friends, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Betool Khedairi was born in Baghdad in 1965 to an Iraqi father and a Scottish mother. She received a BA in French literature from the University of Mustansirya and then traveled between Iraq, Jordan, and the United Kingdom, working in the food industry while writing A Sky So Close, which was published in Arabic in Lebanon in 1999. She currently lives in Amman.

Muhayman Jamil was born in Baghdad. He is currently an associate specialist in palliative medicine in London. His work as a translator includes the novels Absent and A Sky So Close, both by Betool Khedairi.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780812977424
ISBN 10	0812977424
Title	Absent
Author	Betool Khedairi
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2007-07-10
Number of pages	240
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.