In this novel, sex is not the driving force as it was in the Al-Shaykh’s earlier novel, the story of Zahra. Through the unsent letters of her narrator, Asmahran, a wealthy Lebanese woman, the author explores the profound transformations that are happening in her beloved war-torn Beirut. The letters are addressed to the people, places and events that have shaped her life. Through these letters, the reader learns of the constant dangers in the once cosmopolitan city that she loved, Beirut. It explores the frustrations of dealing with the militia, or of not having enough food and electricity. Asmahran is torn between staying in Beirut or fleeing religious and political persecution like many of her friends.
The author vividly portrays the tragedy of contemporary Lebanon.
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