Books from Lebanon
42 popular lebanese books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Asia Challenge" were written by authors from Lebanon.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
31.
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine EN
Description:
“Here is absolute beauty. One of the finest novels I’ve read in years.” —Junot Diaz An astonishingly inventive, wonderfully exuberant novel that takes us from the shimmering dunes of ancient Egypt to the war-torn streets of twenty-first-century Lebanon. In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father’s deathbed. The city is a shell of the Beirut Osama remembers, but he and his friends and family take solace in the things that have always sustained them: gossip, laughter, and, above all, stories. Osama’s grandfather was a hakawati, or storyte... continue
32.
The Illusion of Return : A Novel by Samir El-Youssef EN
Description:
The nameless narrator of this startling novella believed himself to be under no illusion: a Palestinian refugee, he had escaped the deadly tumult of Lebanon, the roving militias and endlessly complicated religious violence, by having long ago fled to London. He knew he could never go back. But then one day an old friend, who had also escaped, calls him and asks to meet at the airport on a stop-over on his way back to Lebanon. For the narrator, it summons up everything he thought he had suppressed, both the yearning to go home and the secret reason he can't. Thus the reunion with his old friend... continue
33.
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury EN
Description:
When the opening gala of a Vatican exhibit attended by archaeologist Tess Chaykin is stormed by four horsemen dressed as Templar Knights who steal an artifact, FBI anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly and Tess team up for an investigation. Reprint.
34.
The Locust and the Bird : My Mother's Story by Hanan Al-Shaykh EN
Description:
Kamila is nine years old when she is taken from the poverty of her childhood village in southern Lebanon to Beirut. She has never learned to read or write though she longs to go to school. Stories, poetry and film are her passion - and a beautiful boy called Muhammad. They fall in love before Kamila is forced into an arranged marriage, despite her tears and screams. She is only fourteen years old. On her wedding night her first daughter is conceived; four years later, Hanan is born. Kamila and Muhammad continue to see each other in secret, risking their lives. It is eight years before Kamila c... continue
35.
The Occasional Virgin : A Novel by Hanan al-Shaykh EN
Description:
On a sunny beach on the Italian Riviera, two thirtysomething women, Yvonne and Huda, relax by the sparkling sea. But despite the setting, as their vacation unfolds, their complicated pasts seep through to the idyllic present. Both women spent their childhoods in Lebanon—Yvonne raised in a Christian family, Huda in a Muslim one—and they now find themselves torn between the traditional worlds they were born into and the successful professional identities they’ve created. Three months later, when Huda (a theater director from Toronto) visits Yvonne (an advertising executive) in London, a chance e... continue
36.
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran EN
Description:
Kahlil Gibran's masterpiece, The Prophet, is one of the most beloved classics of our time. It has been translated into more than twenty languages, and the American editions alone have sold more than nine million copies. The Prophet is a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. Gibran's musings are divided into twenty-eight chapters covering such sprawling topics as love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, housing, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, s... continue
37.
The Story of Zahra by Ḥanān Shaykh EN
Description:
Zahra, a young Lebanese woman haunted by memories of abuse by her parents, enters into a loveless marriage in West Africa and then returns to war-torn Beirut.
38.
Varjak Paw by SF Said EN
Description:
"Dazzling." —The New York Times Mesopotamian Blue cat, Varjak Paw, has never been Outside before; he and his family have always lived in the isolated house at the top of the hill. But Varjak is forced out into the city when the sinister Gentleman and his two menacing cats take over his home. With help from his mystical ancestor, Jalal, Varjak manages to overcome challenges such as self-survival and a threat from the gangland cats, and he ultimately discovers the terrifying secrets behind the Vanishings. But can he save his own family from their fate? With wonderful integrated illustrations fro... continue
39.
Welcome Home : A Guide to Building a Home for Your Soul by Najwa Zebian EN
Description:
From the celebrated poet, speaker, and educator comes Welcome Home, a powerful blueprint for building a strong foundation of self-worth, belonging, and happiness. “A master class in self-actualization and compassion.”—Mari Andrew, New York Times bestselling author of Am I There Yet? The powerful metaphor of home provides a structure for you to customize your journey to personal transformation as Najwa Zebian shares her own experiences in building a home within herself, and shows you how to construct the following “rooms”: • Self-Love: Learn how to build an individualized self-care routine to r... continue
40.
White Masks by Elias Khoury EN
Description:
Why was the corpse of Khalil Ahmad Jaber found in a mound of garbage? Why had this civil servant disappeared weeks before his horrific death? Who was this man? A journalist begins to piece together an answer by speaking with his widow, a local engineer, a watchman, the garbage man who discovered him, the doctor who performed the autopsy, and a young militiaman. Their stories emerge, along with the horrors of Lebanon’s bloody civil war and its ravaging effects on the psyches of the survivors. With empathy and candor, Elias Khoury reveals the havoc the war wreaked on Beirut and its inhabitants, ... continue