A Calamity of Noble Houses
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1.0 • 1 Rating
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A finalist for the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, a compelling saga of two families that illuminates the lives of women in modern Tunisia
Tunisia, 1930s. Against the backdrop of a country in turmoil, in search of its identity, the lives and destinies of the members of two important upper-class families of Tunis intertwine: the Ennaifer family, with a rigidly conservative and patriarchal mentality, and the Rassaa, open-minded and progressive.
One terrible night in December 1935, the destiny of both families changes forever when Zbaida Ali Rassaa, the young wife of Mohsen Ennaifer, is accused of having had a clandestine love affair with Tahar Haddad, an intellectual of humble origins known for his union activism and support for women’s rights. The events of that fateful night are told by eleven different narrators, members of the two families, who recall them in different historical moments, from the 1940s to the present day. The result is a complex mosaic of secrets, memories, accusations, regrets, and emotions, taking the reader on an exciting journey through the stories of individuals caught up in the upheavals of history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ghenim (The Yellow Dossier) offers an enthralling saga of two upper-class families linked by marriage and roiled by an explosive letter in 1935 Tunis. The contents of the note, smuggled to Zbaida Ali Rassaa in a package of bread by her former tutor, Tahar, remain a mystery throughout the novel, as 11 narrators recount their version of what happened leading up to and following the letter's interception by Zbaida's in-laws. Her father is forward-thinking enough to provide his twin daughters with an education in Arabic and French literature, but is aghast when Tahar, an intellectual from the lower classes who advocates for women's rights, emerges as a potential suitor for Zbaida. In response, he arranges for her to marry Moshen, son of the conservative Ennaifer family. As Zbaida's and Moshen's families and servants weigh in, the reader learns how Zbaida's reputation is irrevocably tainted and her fidelity questioned over the following decades. While the multiple narrators can make it challenging to keep track of the characters, Ghenim provides a rich backdrop with descriptions of Tunis's culinary traditions and Tunisia's fight for independence. Readers will be transported.
