An Unlasting Home
Sara, a philosophy professor at Kuwait University, has long had an uneasy relationship with her homeland. But after her mother’s death, inertia keeps her there – until she is accused of blasphemy and faces the threat of execution. As she awaits trial, Sara is forced to reckon with her place in the world and the women who shaped her. Her grandmothers’ lives span privilege and poverty: Yasmine, who married the son of a Pasha and soon regretted it, and Lulwa, swept from hardship into the wealth of an Indian merchant’s household. Then there are her two mothers: Noura, restless for America, and Maria, the devoted ayah who leaves her own children behind in Pune to raise Sara and her brother.A sweeping saga, An Unlasting Home captures the tragedies and triumphs of three generations of Arab women in one unforgettable tale.
‘A smooth, fast-flowing narrative…a testament to the eternal vibrancy and pluck of women in the Arab world.’ – Financial Times
‘So fresh and unsettling that it will enchant you from the first page and linger for days after reading.’ – Los Angeles Review of Books
‘Accomplished and searing.’ – Publishers Weekly
‘Al-Nakib writes imaginative tales with grace, lucidity and intelligence. Poignant and profound.’ – Selma Dabbagh, author of Out of It
‘Passionate and skilful. Every detail lands perfectly and leaves the reader altered.’ – A.L. Kennedy, author of Paradise
‘Urgent storytelling of the lives of generations of women...with an exquisite and necessary philosophical discourse.’ – Ira Mathur, author of Love the Dark Days
‘Al-Nakib lyrically explores themes of homeland, tradition and agency.’ – Ms. Magazine
‘Al-Nakib’s storyteller’s voice is fresh and original – her book grabbed me and kept me entranced to the last page.’ – Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Crescent
Mai Al-Nakib was born in Kuwait and spent the first six years of her life in the UK. She holds a PhD in English from Brown University and is an associate professor of English and comparative literature at Kuwait University, with a special emphasis on gender, cosmopolitanism and postcolonial issues. Her short story collection, The Hidden Light of Objects, won the Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award in 2014. Her stories and essays have been widely published, and she is a frequent contributor to World Literature Today, LA Review of Books and the BBC World Service. She lives in Kuwait and is working on her second novel.
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