Lebanon, Lebanon

by Anna Wilson (Editor), Nadim Shehadi (Foreword)

This collection of writing and drawings – from some of the world’s leading authors and artists – was put together to support the children of Lebanon after the outbreak of war in July 2006. The contributors include:

Etel Adnan, Adonis, Paul Auster, Hoda Barakat, John Berger, Abbas Beydoun, Raymond Briggs, Carmen Callil, John le Carré, Jung Chang, Hassan Daoud, Mahmud Darwish, Margaret Drabble, Moris Farhi, Simone Fattal, Robert Fisk, Lara Frankena, Maggie Gee, Mai Ghoussoub, Charles Glass, Fabio Guzman, Malu Halasa, Mona Hatoum, Tobias Hill, Aamer Hussein, Nada Awar Jarrar, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Peter Kennard, Judith Kazantzis, Mazen Kerbaj, Zena el-Khalil, Hanif Kureishi, Doris Lessing, Toby Litt, Madi, Jean Said Makdisi, Alberto Manguel, Yann Martel, David Medalla, Adrian Mitchell, Blake Morrison, Beverley Naidoo, V. S. Naipaul, Alexandre Najjar, Adam Nankervis, Greta Naufal, Shirin Neshat, Rebecca O’Connor, Orhan Pamuk, Hadrian Piggott, Harold Pinter, Clare Pollard, Mohammed Rawas, Rhea, Claudia Roden, Marisa Rueda, Kamila Shamsie, Hanan al-Shaykh, Owen Sheers, Anna Sherbany, David Shrigley, Iain Sinclair, Souheil Sleiman, Ali Smith, George Szirtes, Arnold Wesker, Brian Whitaker, Hugo Williams, Zapiro.

All profits from this anthology will go to Lebanese children’s charities.

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice reading about Lebanon before the war, and very hard to hear the people who lived in Lebanon during, express their views on prewar, during and post. This book left me in a bad mood (only way I can express it currently). That is the main reason I gave it a three star rating, but in saying that it made me feel the way it intended to do. I was hoping to learn more about my people and their perspective, and I did. The way they express themselves is all too familiar to me--poetic and full of emotion. I realize how small my country is, and how all Lebanese people are connected, and how war affected us all. I sense nothing from those who shared their stories other than innocence and full of love for the simple life. My favourite part was the short story about how Lebanese women are so precise with cleanliness, it reminds me of myself, my mother and my sisters. This book made me happy and sad, over and over until it was too tiring to read another story about how war stripped these people away from what they love--I guess how most Lebanese people feel being in a peaceful country always on the edge of war, hoping it'll never happen again. I also hope for this.

[Don Gubler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and illuminating. I spent some time in Lebanon back before all the trials began. It was an almost enchanted place full of vibrant people. I love the place and the people and am heartsick from the events that have shattered and ended so many lives. This book captures that trauma but also you can just glimpse the silver lining of the faith and resiliency of the amazing people who survive and struggle to rebuild that wondrous place. They will triumph over it all and I hope to be able to watch all that unfold as I have watched the sad. I await with hope the sequel to this book about those triumphs.

[Alaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Being Lebanese, I could relate to a lot of the poems and stories these authors shared. I can’t imagine how life could continue normally after wars constantly tearing your homeland apart. But the biggest takeaway, when it comes to living through that, we must continue to live no matter how much was lost/taken.