B as in Beirut

In this affecting debut, Lebanese novelist Younes artfully presents the overlapping struggles of four woman living in the same Beirut apartment building during the bloody, stop-start Lebanese civil war of 1975–1990. While the city slides into violent chaos, Lilian watches as those around her break under the weight of grief until the desire to emigrate is so strong that she begins living out of suitcases, even bringing them down to the nearby bomb shelter. Crumbling emotionally, Warda pines for her daughter, Sara, from whom she is separated by the fighting. Maha, separated from her lover by the hostilities, remains in the building for the duration of the war, adjusting the rhythm of her everyday activities to accommodate the swelling violence. Camilia, the fourth woman, returns to Lebanon after a long time away to film a war documentary and moves in with Maha, a friend of a friend. Maha and Camilia's stories are the most interlinked, and it is through their combined perspectives that the book reaches a moving climax. Younes delivers a fractured Beirut with acute empathy and insight. (Apr.)