Absent (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780812977424)

Dalal is a young woman living in a crowded Baghdad apartment with the childless aunt and uncle who raised her. In the same building, Umm Mazin, a fortune-teller, offers her customers cures for their physical and romantic ailments, Saad the hairdresser attends to a dwindling number of female customers, and Ilham, a nurse, escapes the stark realities of her hospital job in dreams of her long-lost French mother. Despite the damaging effects of bombings and international sanctions on their world, all the residents try to maintain normal lives.

Hoping to bring in much-needed cash by selling honey, Dalal's uncle becomes a beekeeper, enlisting Dalal's help in the care of these temperamental creatures. Meanwhile, Dalal falls in love for the first time-against a background of surprise arrests, personal betrayals, and a crumbling social fabric that turns neighbors into informants.

Tightly crafted and full of vivid, unforgettable characters, Absent is a haunting portrait of life under restrictions, the fragile emotional ties among family and friends, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Author: Betool Khedairi
ISBN-10: 0812977424
ISBN-13: 9780812977424
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Language: English
Published: 07/10/2007
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.39lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.71w x 0.56d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/28/2007 pg. 36
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2007 pg. 522