Tangled Words

by Rima Jbara

I was born to create an affair between a pen and a paper. Make them flirt with one another. Make them fall in love with each other. I was born to write forever. What I write may not all be masterpieces. But these are my words. They murmur in my ears. They glisten my sight. They mesmerize my senses. I am caught up in these books. Trapped in my very own self. My life will go on in these endless books. I was born to die holding a pen and a paper. Writing tangled words.

84 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2008

Reviews

[Deep Choudhary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rima Jbara's Tangled Words is a haunting exploration of the fine line between creativity and despair. Through the intertwined lives of twin sisters Rain and Eternity Newton, Jbara crafts a story that captures both the brilliance and burden of artistic genius. The novel immerses readers in a world where writing becomes both salvation and destruction.
Set against a backdrop of familial tension and emotional abuse, the sisters embody contrasting forces-Rain, the fragile dreamer consumed by her emotions, and Eternity, the resilient realist who carries forward both their legacies. Their relationship unfolds with lyrical poignancy, reflecting the eternal struggle between vulnerability and endurance.
Jbara's writing is deeply poetic, blending introspection and dialogue in a cinematic rhythm that heightens the novel's emotional intensity. While occasionally abstract, her prose captures the raw truth of solitude, ambition, and mental fragility with remarkable authenticity.
Tangled Words is a moving meditation on sisterhood, sacrifice, and the immortality of art. It lingers long after the final page, reminding readers that words-like love
—can outlive even death.

[Claudia Gregotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tangled Words is a really interesting novel in which Rima again succeeds at making us reflect on the duality of individuals. This time, she’s chosen two antagonist characters: the twin sisters Rain and Eternity, as examples of yin and yang. Through her characteristic stream-of-consciousness style, the author lets us know about the hardships and opportunities the sisters come across and the opposing attitudes each one of them adopt to sort them out.
As always, in Rima Jbara’s novels, there are invaluable messages to make us, readers, reflect on our personal experiences and, in this case,to learn to cope with our duality in order to be resilient and enjoy life.