Under the Tripoli Sky
by Kamal Ben Hameda
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Description
A fascinating portrait of a pre-Gaddafi society on the verge of change. Tripoli in the 1960s. A sweltering, segregated society. Hadachinou is a lonely boy. His mother shares secrets with her best friend Jamila while his father prays at the mosque. Sneaking through the sun-drenched streets of Tripoli, he listens to the whispered stories of the women. He turns into an invisible witness to their repressed desires while becoming aware of his own. Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'This is show more a fascinating portrait of a closed society. On the surface this quiet vignette of a story could be read as gently nostalgic, but underneath the author reveals the seething tensions of a traditional city coming to terms with our modern world. The book gives us privileged access to a place where men and women live apart and have never learned to respect each other.’ Meike Ziervogel 'The reader feels he is peeking through a half-drawn curtain on a secret feminine world in a patriarchal society . . . Excellent.’ David Mills, Sunday Times 'Beautifully simple and restrained prose.’ Lucy Popescu, Huffington Post 'It ought to be commended for its lack of sentimentality about this much-mythologized chapter of modern Libya.’ Hasham Matar, Times Literary Supplement 'A short but shimmering read.’ Malcolm Forbes, National show lessTags
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Member Reviews
1960s Libya
By sally tarbox on 19 March 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
A fairly lyrical, poetic novella set in 1960s Libya. The feel of the place washes over the reader, the heat, the sea, the mythology... With his father often away, young Hadachinou is surrounded by women. His mother, who seems to resent him; aunts; servants; friends. Some are oppressed by their men while others have struggled to achieve freedom. On the cusp of adolescence, the boy imbibes the atmosphere around him.
Quite well-written but ultimately forgettable.
By sally tarbox on 19 March 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
A fairly lyrical, poetic novella set in 1960s Libya. The feel of the place washes over the reader, the heat, the sea, the mythology... With his father often away, young Hadachinou is surrounded by women. His mother, who seems to resent him; aunts; servants; friends. Some are oppressed by their men while others have struggled to achieve freedom. On the cusp of adolescence, the boy imbibes the atmosphere around him.
Quite well-written but ultimately forgettable.
Full review can be found here:
https://nordie.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/book-review-under-the-tripoli-sky-by-kam....
https://nordie.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/book-review-under-the-tripoli-sky-by-kam....
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4,379 works; 123 members
Author Information
3+ Works 52 Members
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Belongs to Publisher Series
Peirene Press (Coming of Age: Towards Identity, 15)
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- La compagnie des Tripolitaines
- Original publication date
- 2011
- People/Characters
- Hadachinou
- Important places
- Tripoli, Libya
- First words
- The day before.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Seven girls inside a ...
- Original language
- French
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 50
- Popularity
- 604,246
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.17)
- Languages
- English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
