Bibliograph

Naphtalene, a Novel of Baghdad

Type

Label

Naphtalene, a Novel of Baghdad

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

fiction

Main title

Naphtalene

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Series statement

Women Writing the Middle East

Sub title

a Novel of Baghdad

Summary

Seen through the eyes of a strong-willed and perceptive young girl, Naphtalene beautifully captures the atmosphere of Baghdad in the 1940s and 1950s. Through her rich and lyrical descriptions, Alia Mamdouh vividly recreates a city of public steam baths, roadside butchers, and childhood games played in the same streets where political demonstrations against British colonialism are beginning to take place. At the heart of the novel is nine-year-old Huda, a girl whose fiery, defiant nature contrasts sharply with her own inherent powerlessness. Through Mamdouh's strikingly inventive use of language, Huda's stream-of-consciousness narrative expands to take in the life not only of a young girl and her family, but of her street, her neighborhood, and her country

Target audience

adult

Classification