`We are, and always will be, wanderers who have lost their way . . .' A prolific novelist and acclaimed historian of the Middle East, Amin Maalouf had never before taken the time to trace his own ancestry. But on the sudden death of his father he decides to address this, and, given a trunk of letters and the opportunity to sort them, begins to find the keys to his past. Like many Levantine families, Maalouf's is ethnically and religiously diverse, and the figures he encounters are maverick, visionary, strong-willed, far ...
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`We are, and always will be, wanderers who have lost their way . . .' A prolific novelist and acclaimed historian of the Middle East, Amin Maalouf had never before taken the time to trace his own ancestry. But on the sudden death of his father he decides to address this, and, given a trunk of letters and the opportunity to sort them, begins to find the keys to his past. Like many Levantine families, Maalouf's is ethnically and religiously diverse, and the figures he encounters are maverick, visionary, strong-willed, far-flung. Starting in the mountains of Lebanon, their story is yet one of exile: of brothers separated, of dramatic emigrations, and of revolutions espoused in the dying years of the Ottoman Empire and beyond. Taking Maalouf from Lebanon to Cuba, this memoir is a fascinating insight into the nature and fate of a nomadic family. Above all, it is a meditation on the profound extent to which blood ties can represent homeland, and to which curiosity, guilt, love and pride can echo through the generations. 'What do you get when one of the Arab world's greatest writers, a Prix-Goncourt-winning historical novelist, decides to write a memoir? A marvel' Rabih Alameddine
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Milton Under Wychwood,
OXFORDSHIRE,
UNITED KINGDOM
$22.00
Add this copy of Origins: a Memoir to cart. $22.00, very good condition, Sold by Greensleeves Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milton Under Wychwood, OXFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2008 by Picador.
Add this copy of Origins to cart. $71.95, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Frr Strs nd Grx.
I found this book to be a very good source
for what it was like under the dreadful
ottoman empire, the author did not think it
so dreadful, but coming from the same
cultural background as the author, I know of
first hand family stories that the Turks were
cruel rulers who tried to destroy Arab culture.
Yet, history books are not kind or accurate
concerning the Middle East, so I did so enjoy
reading an accurate history book for a change
that was part history, part memoir. Thank you
also to Ms. Temerson for a good translation-