A Girl Made of Dust - Rilegato

Abi-Ezzi, Nathalie

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 080211895X ISBN 13: 9780802118950

Casa editrice: Grove Pr, 2009

Riassunto

Ten-year-old Ruba lives in a village outside Beirut. From her family home, she can see the buildings shimmering on the horizon and the sea stretched out beside them. She can also hear the rumble of the shelling - this is Lebanon in the 1980s and civil war is tearing the country apart.
Ruba, however, has her own worries. Her father hardly ever speaks and spends most of his days sitting in his armchair, avoiding work and family. Her elder brother, Naji, has started to spend his time with older boys - and some of them have guns.
When Ruba uncovers her father's secret, she starts a journey that takes her from childhood to the beginnings of adulthood. And she realises, as Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, that she may not be able to keep her family safe.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

[A] powerful, poetic debut novel . . . Ruba is a delightful and precocious narrator . . . [reminiscent of] Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. . . . Both graceful and wise, [A Girl Made of Dust is] a simple narrative that lets the pure vision of childhood speak for itself . . . [and] makes a reader wonder: If more Rubas found their voices, might there not be less war?” Marjorie Kehe, Christian Science Monitor

Abi-Ezzi’s exquisitely affecting debut novel, A Girl Made of Dust, not only conjures a fully-realized and vividly-populated world via the perspective of an eight-year-old girl, but adroitly plays on her ingenuousness to subtly convey its themes, namely the senselessness of religious conflict and the elusive importance of responsibility and forgiveness. . . . Abi-Ezzi portrays the inhumanity of the violence that devastated Lebanon without a tub-thumping agenda . . . Page-turningly suspenseful . . . A Girl Made of Dust is equally gripping as a poignant family drama and as a visceral depiction of living with war literally crashing on your doorstep. The local sounds, smells, and sights are astonishingly well-rendered, with transportingly-textured details that nevertheless are wholly convincing as the impressions of a young child.” Words Without Borders

In lean, lyrical prose, the author juxtaposes scenes of everyday pleasure with surrealist horrors to depict coming of age in the line of fire. Part folk tale, part reportage, this moving portrait achieves a dark poetry.” Kirkus Reviews

In her affecting and assured first novel, Nathalie Abi-Ezzi lyrically evokes village life in rural Lebanon during civil war.” Anna Mundow, Boston Globe

Subtle and unique.” Mary-Liz Shaw, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A testimony to survival.” Rebecca Starford, The Australian

Abi-Ezzi walks the delicate tightrope between man’s inhumanity and the power and strength family members must draw upon in order to survive. . . . Beautifully written, lyrical, with vivid, sensual descriptions that are sophisticated yet completely believable as experienced and retained by a child.” Publishers Weekly

Abi-Ezzi deftly tells this story through Ruba’s eyes, allowing the reader to experience her loss of innocence as she learns of the complexities of the world. Highly recommended.” Library Journal (starred review)

Vivid and unflinching, A Girl Made of Dust portrays the deterioration of a family and a war-torn town from the perspective of a candidly charming and astute eight-year-old girl. Nathalie Abi-Ezzi’s prose is evocative, radiant and lyrical. This poignant and gripping debut virtually crackles with urgency and compassion.” Kiara Brinkman, author of Up High in the Trees

[A] haunting story that raises elemental global issues that are part of headlines today.” Hazel Rochman, Booklist

Captivating . . . A subtle, pertinent depiction of civilian life in the midst of bewildering conflict.” Catherine Taylor, The Guardian (UK)

I adored A Girl Made of Dust. . . . At once tender and tragic and Nathalie wonderfully evokes that transient aspect of childhood where everything is possible. It is a book that begs to be re-read. . . . One of those books you can't help but think about long after you finish. A truly remarkable story.” Patricia Wood author of Lottery

A timely evocation of civilian suffering underneath the ubiquities of war, A Girl Made of Dust is, at its heart, a story of growing up and the terrifying things we have no names for in our childishness. . . . Abi-Ezzi portrays [Ruba's] awakening to the cruelties of life as both heartbreaking and profound, successfully eluding the clichés associated with the coming-of-age novel while simultaneously generously enriching its vocabulary.” Val Nolan, The Sunday Business Post (Ireland)

Her well-crafted first novel offers a moving insight into brutal conflict.” Melissa McClements, Financial Times

Abi-Ezzi's endeavour for perfection is as clear as the presence of her exceptional talent. She describes the world of her characters with a sharp eye for the slightest detail.” Jad El Hage, Al-Hayat

A Girl Made of Dust reflects the pain that haunts many Lebanese emigrants attached to the landscape and culture of home. . . . Never preachy or political, Abi-Ezzi makes the reader feel the impact of savagery in the civil war. . . . There is no hatred in this book, only the mystified wonder of a child reared on hope-filled religion. . . . A beautifully written, powerful anti-war statement . . . Ruba is a siren of hope in what could have been a nihilistic document.” Cecile Yazbek, author of Olive Trees Around My Table

A Girl Made of Dust is a timely reminder of the agonies thousands of Lebanese families had to go through during the years of the Lebanese Civil War. . . . Abi-Ezzi skillfully introduces the reader to a life in fear of bombs and stray bullets, as well as to how new hope can be born from affliction.” Ingrid Lamprecht, Socialist Review (UK)

Written with such maturity, it is hard to believe that it’s a debut. . . . This novel transplants us into the world of Ruba, a girl on the cusp of adulthood: a world where the threat of death is very real, the quest for survival strong. It also begs us to ask the question: what happens to those without the money or means to escape a war zone?” Jason Austin, readings.com.au

A subtle story of the civilian experience of war, as told through the eyes of a child. It’s as evocative of family life as it is of conflict, but its real value is in bringing home that real people are living or trying to live behind the news headlines we see.” The Bookbag

Product Description:

Book by AbiEzzi Nathalie

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Grove Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• ISBN 10: 080211895X
• ISBN 13: 9780802118950
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 236