The Broken Mirrors: Sinalcol Paperback – 11 Feb. 2016

This is a complex novel and unfortunately I found that the rewards weren’t enough to compensate for the effort required to read it. It’s the story of brothers Karim and Nasim set against the background of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) and Khoury explores the dislocating effects of the war on Beirut and the brothers themselves, especially as they take different sides in the conflict. The narrative is discursive and jumps about a lot. There are allusions and ideas that I felt were there but which usually escaped me. My fault perhaps, but nevertheless this had an alienating effect. I know that Khoury is considered one of the giants of Arabic literature, but I find his style difficult and confusing, and I must admit to giving up on the book, something I am always reluctant to do when reviewing for Netgalley. But I simply wasn’t enjoying it.