Doha: Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing is launching a new novel — Bitter Almonds — on August 13.
Written by Syrian-Palestinian author Lilas Taha (pictured), it is a heart-wrenching novel of exile and displacement, as experienced by its main protagonist Omar, an orphaned boy born on the eve of the Naqba in Palestine. He is compelled by forces beyond his control to find his place in the world. He only has one thing to hold onto: A love that drives him.
Nadia is young and idealistic. Her attempts to be oblivious to the bleak reality in Damascus are thwarted by her cowardly brother. Will she be able to break out of her traditional social mould to create her own destiny? A mosaic of rich history, deep culture, religious undercurrents, political influences and regional wars shape events of the plot between 1948 and 1970.
The main themes of the novel have a universal appeal — how the characters experience life in all its complexities: Love, betrayal, dreams, accomplishments and failures.
Bitter Almonds brings to life in stunning technicolour the lives of people in countries torn apart by conflict. It is also about family duty and honour and the universal feelings of love and loss.
Taha is an electrical engineer by training and an advocate for domestic abuse victims. She was born in Kuwait to a Syrian mother and a Palestinian father, and immigrated to the US following the Gulf war. Bitter Almonds is her second novel. She lives in Texas.
The Peninsula
