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Block 82
Nadia and Tony are looking for a light when war and invasion are leaving a shadow of desensitization over the people of Lebanon. In the end, they try to keep hope during the 1982 invasion by looking to God, but the paradox is, the war is about God.
Ibrahim’s family is trying to escape their religious persecution, war, and despair. The characters are struggling against all odds to survive something they have no say. Jawaher Ibrahim needs to keep her family safe and survive the bombshells and the jetfighter attacks. Hashem tries to escape his country’s ailments through drinking. Marwan is trying to keep the family together in the middle of gruesome bombings. Laila is fighting quietly for whatever is left of her family. They are all caught in a cobweb of intriguing events. They want to keep their humanity as they watch their friends and family damaged from the drugs, rape, and killings that coexist with their battle to reach a resolution.
In all this whirlpool, love is blooming. Would love triumph over war?
Ibrahim’s family is trying to escape their religious persecution, war, and despair. The characters are struggling against all odds to survive something they have no say. Jawaher Ibrahim needs to keep her family safe and survive the bombshells and the jetfighter attacks. Hashem tries to escape his country’s ailments through drinking. Marwan is trying to keep the family together in the middle of gruesome bombings. Laila is fighting quietly for whatever is left of her family. They are all caught in a cobweb of intriguing events. They want to keep their humanity as they watch their friends and family damaged from the drugs, rape, and killings that coexist with their battle to reach a resolution.
In all this whirlpool, love is blooming. Would love triumph over war?
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2019
2 people are currently reading
About the author
R.H. Duncan
1ÌýbookRima Haidar-Duncan was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Her father was a Literature teacher and a writer.
She worked for the English Department in Assafir Newspaper in Beirut. In the beginning, she wanted to be a professional theater actress. She acted in a Children's play for a professional theater. She didn't pursue the career.
She received the Hariri scholarship to study at Boston University. After that, Rima went to London, England, then returned to Boston. Later to Kansas and San Francisco and resided in Kansas there with her family and two girls. She worked as a freelance researcher for a while for a professor at Kuwait University.
She began her writing in the 90s. Currently, she teaches at Wichita State University for Intensive English Program and Communication for Butler Community College.
She worked for the English Department in Assafir Newspaper in Beirut. In the beginning, she wanted to be a professional theater actress. She acted in a Children's play for a professional theater. She didn't pursue the career.
She received the Hariri scholarship to study at Boston University. After that, Rima went to London, England, then returned to Boston. Later to Kansas and San Francisco and resided in Kansas there with her family and two girls. She worked as a freelance researcher for a while for a professor at Kuwait University.
She began her writing in the 90s. Currently, she teaches at Wichita State University for Intensive English Program and Communication for Butler Community College.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 25, 2020
Maybe even a 1.5*
The one saving grace to this book? I learned more about what was going on in Beirut during 1982. As a young mother with four small children, I'm sure I wasn't keeping up much with world affairs.
The rest was flat, with cardboard characters, in my opinion. I felt sorry for the characters going through this time in their lives and that of their country. But I didn't really feel that much emotion from any of them. MC's waffling about the men in her life does NOT make this actually have an real romance, either. But the fear of the unknown that these people lived with didn't really feel very urgent. Bombardments of their city, curfew hours that change from day to day, very little time with power or phone services... it just didn't seem real for a reader. Since I can't imagine what it must have been like for these family members, I wish I could have felt some of it vicariously. The abrupt ending didn't help.
The one saving grace to this book? I learned more about what was going on in Beirut during 1982. As a young mother with four small children, I'm sure I wasn't keeping up much with world affairs.
The rest was flat, with cardboard characters, in my opinion. I felt sorry for the characters going through this time in their lives and that of their country. But I didn't really feel that much emotion from any of them. MC's waffling about the men in her life does NOT make this actually have an real romance, either. But the fear of the unknown that these people lived with didn't really feel very urgent. Bombardments of their city, curfew hours that change from day to day, very little time with power or phone services... it just didn't seem real for a reader. Since I can't imagine what it must have been like for these family members, I wish I could have felt some of it vicariously. The abrupt ending didn't help.
Displaying 1 of 1 review
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