Lit in Translation

Celestial Bodies

سيدات القمر · Sayyidat al-qamar

Jokha Alharthi (جوخة الحارثي, born 1978)

Translated by Marilyn Booth

English editions

In English

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In al-Awafi, an invented village that stands for all of Oman, the family of Azzan is the novel's backbone. His wife Salima was married to him against her will by her uncle, and Azzan is drawn to Najiya, called the Moon. Their daughter Mayya falls for Ali bin Khalif, back from years of study in London with no qualification, but tradition marries her to Abdallah, whose father Sulayman is a merchant, and who loves her though she cannot love him. Their daughter London, and other women of the family, meet their own trials as the story moves from the village to Muscat, from old ways to a new age.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form
Novel
Genres
Family, Love (assigned by AI)
Set in
Oman
First published
2010 by Dar al-Adab
Author's age
32 when first published
ISBN

9781912240166 (Sandstone Press, United Kingdom)

9781948226943 (Catapult, United States)

More
Wikidata