"A kaleidoscopic portrait of Tunisian history."--The New York Times One fateful night in
December 1935 the destinies of two prominent families are changed forever. Zubaida the young
wife of Mohsen Ennaifer is suspected of a clandestine love affair with Tahar a radical
intellectual from humble origins. This scandalous tryst has many facets many truths that are
recounted in the voices of the eleven different narrators who in a feat of storytelling
virtuosity animate this spectacular novel. A complex fresco of secrets memories accusations
regrets and passions set against the backdrop of a country in turmoil in search of its modern
identity. A compelling muti-generational story of women's lives in one of the Arab World's
most intriguing countries a drama of forbidden love and a contemporary narrative in which the
truth remains forever slightly out of reach A Calamity of Noble Houses is Amira Ghenim's
English language debut.
