A Sky So Close
Betool Khedairi. Muhayman Jamil, tr
2001, Pantheon, 0-375-42096-7, $23 hb; 2002, Anchor Books, 0-385-72078-5, $13 pb
Original title: Kam Badat al-Sama’ Qareebah!! Khedairi’s unnamed narrator, like the author, is the daughter of an Iraqi father and a Scottish mother; neither can bear to live in the other’s country. The girl discovers that growing up between two cultures means growing up in neither, means being a stranger—however well-disguised—in both houses, and ultimately means making a home in homelessness itself. This is a poignant and honest story of coming of age.
You may also be interested in...
Book ‘s Take on Mangos Serves Up a Curious Mix of Food and History
Constance L. Kirker and Mary Newman trace mango’s cultural and culinary significance around the world.
Owning Books and Preserving Documents in Medieval Jerusalem—Book Review
In this painstaking work, Owning Books and Preserving Documents in Medieval Jerusalem, historians Said Aljoumani and Konrad Hirschler explore a culture in which books became woven into the fabric of daily life through the case of Burhān al-Dīn Ibrāhīm al-Nāsīrī.