I pulled back from Rhea. I had nothing more to say.
She didn’t turn away from me then, but still I left her in tears. I went down her stairs and into Paris’s streets.
I walked to the train station. It rained, and the trains arrived and departed, and the passengers passed.
The woman at the ticket window asked me, Monsieur, où allez-vous aujourd’hui?
Roma, I said. Roma.
Glossary of Arabic Terms
AKHU AL-SHARMUTA: brother of a bitch
ALA ALAARD YA IKHWAT AL-SHARMUTA: Down on the floor, you brothers of bitches
AL-AMN AL-DAKHILI: internal security
AL-ASWAQ: marketplace; a reference to the region that divided East from West Beirut during the Lebanese civil war
AL-GHARBIYYAH: West Beirut
ALLAH YIRHAMHA: may she rest in peace
AL-NASIK: the Hermit
ARAQ: distilled alcohol made of grapes
ARBA’IN TWAKKAL ALA ALLAH: Forty, God be with you
ARGILAHS: hookahs
ARS: pimp
ASAS: foundation
BATAL: hero
BAMIA: okra
BONSOIRAYN: Lebanese slang meaning bonsoir twice
CHABBAB: young men
DABKAH: a group circular dance
DANTA, YA BEH, MUSH AYIZ IDDIK CRAVATA HARIR KAMAN?: Your highness, do you want me to offer you a silk tie as well?
FANNAS: a liar
GEORGE AL-FARANSAWI: George the French
HABIBTI: my darling
HAMSHAH, SHALKHAH: slang meaning hot, attractive girl
HASHASH: drug user
HAYDI AL-SARSARAH: this gossiper
IRAN: a liquid yoghurt
JABHAH: the name of a place, or a faction, on the front line
JAHILIYYAH: pre-islamic period
KALASH: slang for Kalashnikov, a weapon used widely in the war
KANASA: snipers
KASS: a drink based on green almonds
KAYF: joy; slang for hashish
KHALAS: enough, or finish
KHALL: vinegar
KUNAFAH: a cheese pie
LABNAH: soft cheese
LAHM BA’AJIN: a thin meat pie
MAJALIS: the name of the headquarters of the Lebanese Forces
MAJNUN: crazy
MAN’OUSHE: thyme pie
MARIAM AL-ADHRA’: Virgin Mary
MASHKAL: problem
MASSAT: blowjobs
MAZAH: an assortment of finger foods
MUQAWAMAH: resistance
RAKWAH: a small pot with a short spout used to make Arabic coffee
RJA’ YA ALLAH-RJA’!: Go back, for God’s sake
RUH: spirit
RUMMANAH: pomegranate; slang for a hand grenade
SAHTAYN: good appetite
SAKANAH: an army barricade
SHABAB: young men
SHAHID: martyr
TANTE: aunt
TWAKKAL ALA ALLAH: Have faith in God
‘UMMAH: nation
‘USTADH: teacher
WOU YALLAH SHID YA BEEBO SHID MITL MA SHAD BAYAK AWWAL LAYLAH: Push, push Beebo, in the same way your father pushed on his wedding night
YA CHIC INTA: handsome
YA HABBUB: a term of endearment
YA IKHWAT AL-SHARMUTA: brothers of bitches
YA KALB: dog
YA KHALTI: my aunty
YA ’UM AL-NUR: Mother of Light
YA WLAD AL-SHARMUTA: sons of bitches
YALLAH, KASSAK: cheers
YASSAREH: leftist
ZAJAL: a form of improvised dialect poetry
ZAKHIRAH: a piece of wood the Lebanese Christians believe originated from Jesus’ cross
ZU’RAN: thugs
Acknowledgments
I WOULD LIKE to thank the Canada Council and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for their support. I also would like to thank Lisa Mills for her presence, friendship, and support during the writing of this book and after. Thanks to John Asfour for his friendship and much-appreciated guidance. To my publisher Lynn Henry, and all the people at Anansi, and to Martha Sharpe for acquiring the manuscript and for ongoing support. Thanks to my brothers and family: Mark, Merdad, Ralph, Gigi, and Ramzi. A special thanks to: Dima Ayoub, Leila Bdeir, Laurence Cailbeaux and Jesh Hanspal, Nick Chbat, Tina Diab, Jocelyn Doray, Julia Dover, Eva Elias, Majdi ElOmari, Erin George, Kathryn Haddad, Mansour Harik, Nasrin Himada and Raphaelle Beaulieu, Magdalona Gombos, Aida Kaouk, Sandra Khoury, Johanna Manley, Ramzi Moufarej, Nehal Nassif, Maire Noonan and Antoine Boustros, Milosz Rowicki, Babak Salari, Julian Samuels, Pascale Solon, Laurelle Sprengelmeyer, and Shannon Walsh.
Any resemblance of characters in this novel to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
About the Author
RAWI HAGE was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and lived through nine years of the Lebanese civil war. He immigrated to Canada in 1992. He is an award-winning writer, visual artist, curator, and political commentator. His writing has appeared in Maclean’s, Fuse, Mizna, Jouvert, The Toronto Review, Montreal Serai, and Al-Jadid. His visual work has been shown in galleries and museums around the world. His second novel, Cockroach, will be published by House of Anansi Press in 2008.
About the Publisher
House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 with a mandate to publish Canadian-authored books, a mandate that continues to this day even as the list has branched out to include internationally acclaimed thinkers and writers. The press immediately gained attention for significant titles by notable writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Grant, and Northrop Frye. Since then, Anansi’s commitment to finding, publishing and promoting challenging, excellent writing has won it tremendous acclaim and solid staying power. Today Anansi is Canada’s pre-eminent independent press, and home to nationally and internationally bestselling and acclaimed authors such as Gil Adamson, Margaret Atwood, Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Rawi Hage, Misha Glenny, Jim Harrison, A. L. Kennedy, Pasha Malla, Lisa Moore, A. F. Moritz, Eric Siblin, Karen Solie, and Ronald Wright. Anansi is also proud to publish the award-winning nonfiction series The CBC Massey Lectures. In 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Anansi was honoured by the Canadian Booksellers Association as “Publisher of the Year.”