The House of Mathilde

by Hassan Daoud, حسن داوود

The House of Mathilde takes place in an apartment building in Beirut where Muslim and Christian tenants coexist as society disintegrates around them. The rhythm of the novel is marked by domestic events births, marriages, departures, and deaths but its larger theme is human survival amidst the complexities of war. When violence does intrude, it is all the more shocking in such an intimate setting. Succeeds in eerily illustrating the inhuman aspects of living through a war. Sunday Tribune (London)

181 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Hassan Daoud is a Lebanese writer and journalist. Born in the village of Noumairieh, his family moved to Beirut when he was a child. His university studies focused on Arabic literature. His journalistic career happened with the break of the Lebanese civil war.

Currently he works as an editor for Nawafez (the cultural supplement of the Beiruti newspaper Al-Mustaqbal).

So far, he has published eight novels and two volumes of short stories. Some of his works have been translated into English.

Reviews

[Nabil مملوك · Rating 1 out of 5]

الرواية تركزت في بداياتها على الوصف وهذا بديهي كون المشهد العام يحتاج لتقنية الوصف والحوار أحيانًا ليصل إلى مخيّلة المتلقّي وتصورّه...لكن الوحدة العضويّة للنص الروائي لم تتجلّ إلّا بعدما بلغ الكاتب نصف مشواره الكتابي لهذا النصّ...

رواية تكثر فيها التفاصيل و"الزوائد" ويحضر فيها الجوهر متلاشيًا شاحبًا وبشكل متوقّع.

نبيل مملوك

[Kassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quiet recounting of the daily grievances of a group of apartment dwellers who, because they are Beirutis in the 1970s, makes the ultimate destruction both inevitable and random, devastating. Books like this may have already been written by Iraqis, and will be, at some point, by Syrians.

[Hasan Lamaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

مادة خفيفة وواضحة ، ايقاع ثابت ، للتذوق الادبي السريع

[Ahmad · Rating 3 out of 5]

مليئة بالتفاصيل الممتعة ولكن ايقاعها بطيء ونهايتها غريبة!

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

تفاهة

[Hend · Rating 3 out of 5]

قراءتي الاولى للكاتب حسن داوود . رواية تدور احداثها في بناية واحدة و من خلالها نتعرف على شخصيات الرواية و حياتهم وتبقي ماتليد تعيش في عزلة عن الاخرين

[Selim Batti]

لم أستطع إكماله! إبداع في السخافة!