Broken Mirrors ─ Sinalcol

Karim Chammas returns to Lebanon, his family, and his past after ten years of establishing a new life in France. Back in Beirut, Karim reacquaints himself with his brother Nassim, now married to his former love Hind, and old friends from the leftist political circles within which he once roamed under the nom de guerre Sinalcol. By the end of his six-month stay, he has been reintroduced to the chaos of cultural, religious and political battles that continue to rage in Lebanon. Overwhelmed by the experiences of his return, Karim is forced to contemplate his identity and his place in Lebanon's history. The story of Karim and his family is born of other stories that intertwine to form an imposing fresco of Lebanese society over the past fifty years.Broken Mirrors examines the roots of an endemic civil war and a country's unsettled past.

Elias Khoury, born in Beirut, is the author of thirteen novels, four volumes of literary criticism, and three plays. He was awarded the Palestine Prize forGate of the Sun, which was named Best Book of the Year by Le Monde Diplomatique,The Christian Science Monitor, and The San Francisco Chronicle, and a Notable Book byThe New York Times. Khoury's Yalo, White Masks, Little Mountain, The Journey of Little Gandhi, andCity Gates are also available in English. Khoury is a Global Distinguished Professor of Middle Eastern and Arabic Studies at New York University.As Though She Were Sleeping received France's inaugural Arabic Novel Prize.

Humphrey Davies' translations include Naguib Mahfouz's Thebes at War (American University in Cairo Press, Anchor Books) and Alaa al-Aswany's The Yacoubian Building (AUC Press). He has lived throughout the Middle East and is currently based in Cairo.