Catherine, an orphan girl, carries the stigma of her social background because she is of mixed race, in an era when society was against her and all the principles she represented. In the midst of her daily struggle, music gives her the freedom to temporarily escape and the possibility of dreaming of a better life. Within a journey ravaged by the vicissitudes of unexpected motherhood and an absent husband, Catherine strives to protect this hard-earned haven and rely on her talent to build a future for her family.
Mahsa is also an orphan girl, who grows up in an atmosphere of loss after her parents die and she is sent to live with her relatives in Pakistan. As part of her struggle to find her freedom, Mahsa flees to Montreal, leaving her first love behind. But in the end, she discovers the impossibility of cutting the threads of her past, and finally finds herself forced to accept an arranged marriage. For Mahsa, music becomes her beautiful solace, allowing her to escape from the oppressive circumstances that surround her.
In light of their struggle between the visible life and the hidden life, the two girls, music lovers, meet...
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“I can no longer remember the number of times I stood captivated by the details of the events of this poignant novel. Each page depicts hope versus despair, and asks us to struggle to achieve our dreams without which we would be lost. This story, which presents the themes of motherhood and friendship, through its two exceptional heroines, will remain... Engraved in my memory to accompany me for a long time.”
Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
“Amazing is a hidden treasure in Aleppo,” says one of the novel’s heroines. In her work, Maha Hassan tries to bring this amazement through writing and memories to re-draw Aleppo and its ancient popular neighborhoods, its rituals of living, the simplicity of its people, and their small dreams, before the war comes and destroys all of this in its path.
Relying on a unique technique inspired by the names of Arab and international novels and the titles of the chapters, the heroes of “The Amazing Neighborhood” tell us their story from “Zarqa’s Imagination” and “Beirut Nightmares” to the house of “Sleeping Beauties.”
It is a story about love, childhood memories, intentional killing, the emotional placenta, and the role of literature in our lives
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