A History of the Big House

“Deliberately paced and carefully written: a memorable evocation of a distant but not irrecoverable time.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This is what happens when poets write history; Majdalani weaves facts and dreams, the lives of men and nations, real and imagined, the smell of orange trees, of strong, black coffee on a Levantine morning—you can almost taste it. I could see that big house; I recognized it. This book took me home.” —Yara Zgheib, author of No Land to Light On

Praise for Charif Majdalani:

“Majdalani’s novels are much praised in the Francophone world, and with good reason. His seductive prose twists and turns…gracefully drawing on Arabic storytelling traditions while offering a modern narrative crackling with razor-sharp humor.” —New York Times Book Review

“Majdalani immerses the reader in a tinted world of djellabas, caravans, daggers, banquets, and palanquins…[He] renders the complex social landscape of the Middle East and North Africa with subtlety and finesse.” —Wall Street Journal

“Charming…Majdalani’s writing sparkles.” —Publishers Weekly