Bitter Orange Tree - Libroj.org

Bitlibro

Lingvo: English

Eldonita de Catapult.

(1 recenzo)

First published in Arabic in Oman in 2016.

Zuhour, an Omani student at a British university, is caught between the past and the present. As she attempts to form friendships and assimilate in Britain, she can’t help but ruminate on the relationships that have been central to her life. Most prominent is her strong emotional bond with Bint Aamir, a woman she always thought of as her grandmother, who passed away just after Zuhour left the Arabian Peninsula.

As the historical narrative of Bint Aamir’s challenged circumstances unfurls in captivating fragments, so too does Zuhour’s isolated and unfulfilled present, one narrative segueing into another as time slips, and dreams mingle with memories.

The eagerly awaited new novel by the winner of the Man Booker International Prize, Bitter Orange Tree is a profound exploration of social status, wealth, desire, and female agency. It presents a mosaic portrait of one young woman’s …

First published in Arabic in Oman in 2016.

Zuhour, an Omani student at a British university, is caught between the past and the present. As she attempts to form friendships and assimilate in Britain, she can’t help but ruminate on the relationships that have been central to her life. Most prominent is her strong emotional bond with Bint Aamir, a woman she always thought of as her grandmother, who passed away just after Zuhour left the Arabian Peninsula.

As the historical narrative of Bint Aamir’s challenged circumstances unfurls in captivating fragments, so too does Zuhour’s isolated and unfulfilled present, one narrative segueing into another as time slips, and dreams mingle with memories.

The eagerly awaited new novel by the winner of the Man Booker International Prize, Bitter Orange Tree is a profound exploration of social status, wealth, desire, and female agency. It presents a mosaic portrait of one young woman’s attempt to understand the roots she has grown from, and to envisage an adulthood in which her own power and happiness might find the freedom necessary to bear fruit and flourish.

1 eldono

Stephanie Jane recenzis Bitter Orange Tree de Jokha Alharthi

Deeply rewarding

5 steloj

Having appreciated Jokha Alharthi's previous Man Booker International Prize-winning novel, Celestial Bodies, I leapt at the chance to read Bitter Orange Tree and was delighted to find I enjoyed this tale ever more. Bitter Orange Tree is narrated by a younger woman, Zuhour, looking back across memories of her childhood, particularly remembering her grandmother, Bint Aamir, a frail, disabled woman by the time Zuhour is leaving for university. The generation gap between them is a strong theme of the novel - the opportunities available to Zuhour being unimaginable in her grandmother's time while Bint Aamir's own poignantly unfulfilled dream of a little land of her own to grow fruit trees could not be further from Zuhour's own ambitions.

Alharthi's gorgeous prose makes Bitter Orange Tree essential reading for anyone who, like me, just loves to lose themselves in the beauty of language and special praise must go to Marilyn Booth …

Having appreciated Jokha Alharthi's previous Man Booker International Prize-winning novel, Celestial Bodies, I leapt at the chance to read Bitter Orange Tree and was delighted to find I enjoyed this tale ever more. Bitter Orange Tree is narrated by a younger woman, Zuhour, looking back across memories of her childhood, particularly remembering her grandmother, Bint Aamir, a frail, disabled woman by the time Zuhour is leaving for university. The generation gap between them is a strong theme of the novel - the opportunities available to Zuhour being unimaginable in her grandmother's time while Bint Aamir's own poignantly unfulfilled dream of a little land of her own to grow fruit trees could not be further from Zuhour's own ambitions.

Alharthi's gorgeous prose makes Bitter Orange Tree essential reading for anyone who, like me, just loves to lose themselves in the beauty of language and special praise must go to Marilyn Booth for rendering the original Arabic so deftly into English. I never felt as though I were reading a translation. The dual narratives interweave so, while it was always obvious to me at any time whose story I was reading, there are frequent overlapping moments which I felt really added to the depth of the story. I loved how Alharthi slips effortlessly between present day and historic Oman, illustrating their differences, but also the similarities. I was convinced by the familial relationship between Zuhour and Bint Aamir and, while I never actually found myself pitying the older woman as her character isn't one that invites that reaction, I did feel strongly for her as she is ultimately left isolated by the family to whom she dedicated her life.

Bitter Orange Tree is a wonderful novel of female lives and female friendships. I was engrossed from start to finish and loved the experience. While Alharthi keeps to the idiosyncratic structural style of Celestial Bodies which isn't always easy for a Western reader to follow, I thought that this absolutely works for Bitter Orange Tree. I would say that if, like me, you liked Celestial Bodies then you will love Bitter Orange Tree. It is not the happiest of novels but I found reading this book to be deeply rewarding.