A History of the Big House - by Charif Majdalani (Paperback)

About the Book

"This vibrant family saga chronicles the rise and fall of the Nassar clan, as they navigate the great events of the 20th century in Lebanon, from the Ottoman Empire to the French Mandate. At the end of the 19th century, a man is forced to flee his village after a quarrel. Starting over with nothing, the banished, audacious Wakim Nassar will create orange plantations on the outskirts of Beirut and become the head of a large clan, feared and respected. The great house he builds at their center will become a powerful symbol of the Nassars' glory, admired from afar. But this decadence is short-lived, battered by the First World War, illness, family tragedy, and the shifting regimes that control Lebanon. As circumstances compel Wakim's descendants, one by one, to leave the house, it falls into ruin. A rich, sweeping tale full of unforgettable characters and anchored in historical fact, A History of the Big House captures the unique experience of the Lebanese people through this family's triumphs and struggles"--

Book Synopsis

This vibrant family saga chronicles the rise and fall of the Nassar clan, as they navigate the great events of the 20th century in Lebanon, from the Ottoman Empire to the French Mandate.

At the end of the 19th century, a man is forced to flee his village after a quarrel. Starting over with nothing, the banished, audacious Wakim Nassar will create orange plantations on the outskirts of Beirut and become the head of a large clan, feared and respected. The great house he builds at their center will become a powerful symbol of the Nassars' glory, admired from afar. But this decadence is short-lived, battered by the First World War, illness, family tragedy, and the shifting regimes that control Lebanon. As circumstances compel Wakim's descendants, one by one, to leave the house, it falls into ruin.

A rich, sweeping tale full of unforgettable characters and anchored in historical fact, A History of the Big House captures the unique experience of the Lebanese people through this family's triumphs and struggles.

Review Quotes

"A pleasure to read, as [Majdalani] unfurls lyrical sentences and conjures unexpected, poignant images...His fluency with Lebanese history, particularly its cycles of prosperity and ruin, propels the story." --New York Times Book Review

"Deliberately paced and carefully written: a memorable evocation of a distant but not irrecoverable time." --Kirkus Reviews

"With a literary style and leisurely flow, French-Lebanese writer Majdalani thoroughly details the narrator's journey as they meander through 100 years of family history...this lavishly written family saga retains its elegant storytelling through Diver's translation." --Booklist

"The cultural and descriptive richness of this account makes for an engaging read." --Historical Novel Society

"This is what happens when poets write history; Majdalani weaves facts and dreams, the lives of men and nations, real and imagined, the smell of orange trees, of strong, black coffee on a Levantine morning--you can almost taste it. I could see that big house; I recognized it. This book took me home." --Yara Zgheib, author of No Land to Light On

About the Author

Charif Majdalani was born in Lebanon in 1960 and is one of the most important figures in Lebanese literature today. After living in France for thirteen years, he returned to Lebanon in 1993 and now teaches French literature at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut. His novel Moving the Palace won the 2008 François Mauriac Prize from the Académie Française as well as the Prix Tropiques. His previous book Beirut 2020: Diary of the Collapse was published by Other Press in 2021.

Ruth Diver holds a PhD in French and comparative literature from the University of Paris 8 and the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She won two 2018 French Voices Awards for her translations of Marx and the Doll by Maryam Madjidi, and Titus Did Not Love Berenice by Nathalie Azoulai. She also won Asymptote's 2016 Close Approximations fiction prize for her translation of extracts of Maraudes by Sophie Pujas.