Bitter Orange Tree

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 1 Jul 2022 | Archive Date 26 May 2022

Talking about this book? Use #BitterOrangeTree #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

An extraordinary novel from a Man Booker International Prize-winning author that follows one young Omani woman as she builds a life for herself in Britain and reflects on the relationships that have made her from a “remarkable” writer who has “constructed her own novelistic form” (James Wood, The New Yorker).

Zuhur, an Omani student at a British university, is caught between the past and the present. As she attempts to form friendships and assimilate in Britain, she can’t help but ruminate on the relationships that have been central to her life. Most prominent is her strong emotional bond with Bint Amir, a woman she always thought of as her grandmother, who passed away just after Zuhur left the Arabian Peninsula.
 
As the historical narrative of Bint Amir’s challenged circumstances unfurls in captivating fragments, so too does Zuhur’s isolated and unfulfilled present, one narrative segueing into another as time slips, and dreams mingle with memories.
 
The eagerly awaited new novel by the winner of the Man Booker International Prize, Bitter Orange Tree is a profound exploration of social status, wealth, desire, and female agency. It presents a mosaic portrait of one young woman’s attempt to understand the roots she has grown from, and to envisage an adulthood in which her own power and happiness might find the freedom necessary to bear fruit and flourish.
An extraordinary novel from a Man Booker International Prize-winning author that follows one young Omani woman as she builds a life for herself in Britain and reflects on the relationships that have...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781471193897
PRICE US$24.00 (USD)
PAGES 160

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)

Average rating from 13 members


Featured Reviews

It is very melancholic and poetic. The mother figure, the conflict between two worlds, one seeming to me richer (and guess in which sense and which one); sorrow and empathy at all levels - I think we need more books like Bitter Orange Tree.

Was this review helpful?

A young Omani woman living as a university student in Britain reflects on the formative relationships in her life, most notably, her relationship with her grandmother. A beautifully written story, focusing on wealth, social status, love and female agency. This story manages to explore these important themes through the exceptionally written characters despite being a very concise read. I would definitely recommend everyone to read this book when it is published this June.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: