A History of the Big House: A Novel

(Paperback)

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This vibrant family saga chronicles the rise and fall of the Nassar clan, as they navigate the great events of the 20th century in Lebanon, from the Ottoman Empire to the French Mandate. This vibrant family saga chronicles the rise and fall of the Nassar clan, as they navigate the great events of the 20th century in Lebanon, from the Ottoman Empire to the French Mandate. At the end of the 19th century, a man is forced to flee his village after a quarrel. Starting over with nothing, the banished, audacious Wakim Nassar will create orange plantations on the outskirts of Beirut and become the head of a large clan, feared and respected. The great house he builds at their center will become a powerful symbol of the Nassars' glory, admired from afar. But this decadence is short-lived, battered by the First World War, illness, family tragedy, and the shifting regimes that control Lebanon. As circumstances compel Wakim's descendants, one by one, to leave the house, it falls into ruin. A rich, sweeping tale full of unforgettable characters and anchored in historical fact, A History of the Big House captures the unique experience of the Lebanese people through this family's triumphs and struggles.

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 morningyou 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 forCharif Majdalani:

Majdalanis novels are much praised in the Francophone world, and with good reason. His seductive prose twists and turnsgracefully 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

CharmingMajdalanis writing sparkles. Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Charif Majdalani was born in Lebanon in 1960 and is one of the most important figures in Lebanese literature today. After living in France for thirteen years, he returned to Lebanon in 1993 and now teaches French literature at the Universite Saint-Joseph in Beirut. His novel Moving the Palace won the 2008 Fran ois Mauriac Prize from the Academie Fran aise as well as the Prix Tropiques. His previous book Beirut 2020- Diary of the Collapse was published by Other Press in 2021. Ruth Diver holds a PhD in French and comparative literature from the University of Paris 8 and the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She won two 2018 French Voices Awards for her translations of Marx and the Doll by Maryam Madjidi, and Titus Did Not Love Berenice by Nathalie Azoulai. She also won Asymptote's 2016 Close Approximations fiction prize for her translation of extracts of Maraudes by Sophie Pujas.