Cinnamon

Author(s): Samar Yazbek

Location(s): Damascus

Genre(s): Fiction

Era(s): early 2000s

In the dark of night, Hanan al-Hashimi awakens from a nightmare, confused and shaken. Roaming the house in search of some reassurance, she is drawn towards the streak of light visible beneath her husband s bedroom door. The beckoning glow will turn her life on its head and send her servant Aliyah tumbling back to the dusty alleyways of her childhood. Banished from her mistress s villa, Aliyah s route back to her old neighbourhood is paved with the memories of the family she left behind and the mistress she betrayed. Exhausted by the night s events, both maid and mistress seek refuge in sleep. In their dreams, the women s memories of troubled childhoods, loneliness, love and their lives together combine seamlessly to narrate the story of two Damascene women s search for security and tenderness. Samar Yazbek s quick-paced narrative balances intense drama with the insightful portrayal of her characters precarious mental states. Bizarre and darkly humorous, yet with clear emotional realism Cinnamon is a tale from the inner world of the women of Damascus.

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