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Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (2019, Trade Paperback)
Windflower books store (2011)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherCATAPULT
ISBN-101948226944
ISBN-139781948226943
eBay Product ID (ePID)16038545112
Product Key Features
Book TitleCelestial Bodies
Number of Pages256 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicContemporary Women, Cultural Heritage, Family Life, Coming of Age
Publication Year2019
IllustratorYes
GenreFiction
AuthorJokha Alharthi
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.7 in
Item Weight9.2 Oz
Item Length8.2 in
Item Width5.5 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2019-944448
ReviewsPraise for Celestial Bodies "A book to win over the head and the heart in equal measure . . . Its delicate artistry draws us into a richly imagined community -- opening out to tackle profound questions of time and mortality and disturbing aspects of our shared history. The style is a metaphor for the subject, subtly resisting clichés of race, slavery and gender. The translation is precise and lyrical, weaving in the cadences of both poetry and everyday speech. Celestial Bodies evokes the forces that constrain us and those that set us free." -- Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize "[A] sweeping story of generational and societal change . . . The great strength of the novel lies in the ways this change is shown not as a steady progression from old to new but as a far more complicated series of small-scale transitions . . . A richly layered, ambitious work that teems with human struggles and contradictions, providing fascinating insight into Omani history and society." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "The glimpses into a culture relatively little known in the West are fascinating." -- Jane Housham, The Guardian "To say that Celestial Bodies is a multi-generational saga simplifies what Alharthi has done, which is also to tell the story of how Oman has changed over the last century, from a traditional rural patriarchal society where Islam was complemented by Zar spirit worship, and which was among the last countries in the world to abolish slavery (in 1970), to an urban, oil-rich Gulf state. And she has done so in a form that shifts from voice to voice, viewpoint to viewpoint, decade to decade, sometimes within a single paragraph or sentence." -- Aida Edemariam, The Guardian "This is not only the first novel originally written in Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize, but it is also the first book by a female Omani author to be translated into English, and is thus a major, exciting literary event." -- Emily Temple, Literary Hub , One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year This is a beautiful, fascinating book, which teaches us a great deal about Oman, Arab life and aspirations, and the swiftly changing relations between men and women and between the generations. It is a worthy recipient of this year's Man Booker International Prize." -- Maureen O'Rourke, The Times Literary Supplement "The novel is a beautifully achieved account of lives pulling at the edges of change. The writing is teasingly elliptical throughout and there is a kind of poetic understatement that draws the reader into the domestic settings and public tribulations of the three sisters. . . . Celestial Bodies deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures but most importantly brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature." -- Michael Cronin, Irish Times "A striking feat, it deserves the world's attention . . . In revealing Omani history through marginalized voices, Celestial Bodies also lays bare those global forces that enable, amongst other things, unequal conditions of value and circulation. . . . Celestial Bodies does what the best literature does: it takes us out of ourselves only to bring us to a better understanding of our world."-- Sarah Jilani, Frieze, Winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year in Fiction "In her novel Celestial Bodies , the Omani author Jokha Alharthi inhabits this liminal space between memory and forgetting: the dark tension between the stories we tell and the stories we know . . . Booth's translation honors the elliptical rhythms of Arabic and the language's rich literary heritage. She imbues the book's numerous poetic extracts with lyricism and devotedly preserves the rhymes and cadences of its proverbs. ('The feet walk fast for the loving heart's sake, but when you feel no longing, your feet drag and ache.') Yet there is no doubt that this is a contemporary novel, insistent and alive . . . Celestial Bodies is itself a treasure house: an intricately calibrated chaos of familial orbits and conjunctions, of the gravitational pull of secrets." Beejay Silcox, T he New York Times Book Review "Bright and illuminating." Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal "The form's remarkable adaptability is on brilliant display in Celestial Bodies (Catapult), a searching work of fiction by Jokha Alharthi, an Omani writer and academic . . . Within all the chapters, the stories float like this, lightly tethered to what the French call récitthe moment in which the story is being told, the narrative present. The result is a beautifully wavering, always mobile set of temporalities, the way starlight seems to flicker when we gaze at distant and nearer celestial bodies . . . Indeed, the great pleasure of reading Celestial Bodies is witnessing a novel argue, through the achieved perfection of its form, for a kind of inquiry that only the novel can really conduct." James Wood, The New Yorker "Arab women, therefore, face twin obstacles: the West's own gender biases, and the reductive narrative of the Arab woman. This is why it was such a victory when the International Booker Prize jury chose an Arab novelone written by a womanto receive the award for the first time in the prize's history. The Omani novelist Jokha al-Harthi's breathtaking, layered, multigenerational novel Celestial Bodies , which was beautifully translated into English, follows the lives of three sisters from a small village at a time of rapid social and economic change in Oman. The tale is replete with history, poetry, and philosophy, but also slavery, broken marriages, passion, and not-so-secret lovers." Kim Gattas, The Atlantic "Rich, dense . . . The variety of perspectives is effective in offering a window into a country that few Western readers will know intimately . . . Celestial Bodies is strongest in its exploration of how the changes in Oman affect women: within one generation, they are exposed to ideas from abroad and start moving away from cloistered, rural life. But Alharthi . . . pushes past stereotypical narratives of Muslim women defying patriarchy, instead illustrating the difficulties of balancing tradition and newfound freedoms. It's a tale that perhaps could have been written only in a strange new place itself." Naina Bajekal, Time "A rich, dense web of a novel . . . Alharthi constructs a tapestry of interlocking lives, some seen over the course of decades, others at just a single pungent moment. Rarely have I encountered a work of fiction in which form and idea were so inseparably, and appropriately, fused . . . Marilyn Booth, the translator, has done a wonderful job of conveying a lyricism I can only assume is present in Alharthi's original." --Ruth Franklin, The New York Review of Books, Praise for Celestial Bodies "A book to win over the head and the heart in equal measure . . . Its delicate artistry draws us into a richly imagined community -- opening out to tackle profound questions of time and mortality and disturbing aspects of our shared history. The style is a metaphor for the subject, subtly resisting clichés of race, slavery and gender. The translation is precise and lyrical, weaving in the cadences of both poetry and everyday speech. Celestial Bodies evokes the forces that constrain us and those that set us free." --Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize "The glimpses into a culture relatively little known in the West are fascinating." --Jane Housham, The Guardian "The novel is a beautifully achieved account of lives pulling at the edges of change. The writing is teasingly elliptical throughout and there is a kind of poetic understatement that draws the reader into the domestic settings and public tribulations of the three sisters. . . . Celestial Bodies deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures but most importantly brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature." --Michael Cronin, Irish Times "A striking feat, it deserves the world's attention . . . In revealing Omani history through marginalized voices, Celestial Bodies also lays bare those global forces that enable, amongst other things, unequal conditions of value and circulation. . . . Celestial Bodies does what the best literature does: it takes us out of ourselves only to bring us to a better understanding of our world."--Sarah Jilani, Frieze, Praise for Celestial Bodies "A book to win over the head and the heart in equal measure . . . Its delicate artistry draws us into a richly imagined community -- opening out to tackle profound questions of time and mortality and disturbing aspects of our shared history. The style is a metaphor for the subject, subtly resisting clichés of race, slavery and gender. The translation is precise and lyrical, weaving in the cadences of both poetry and everyday speech. Celestial Bodies evokes the forces that constrain us and those that set us free." --Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize "The glimpses into a culture relatively little known in the West are fascinating." --Jane Housham, The Guardian "This is not only the first novel originally written in Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize, but it is also the first book by a female Omani author to be translated into English, and is thus a major, exciting literary event." --Emily Temple, Literary Hub , One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year "The novel is a beautifully achieved account of lives pulling at the edges of change. The writing is teasingly elliptical throughout and there is a kind of poetic understatement that draws the reader into the domestic settings and public tribulations of the three sisters. . . . Celestial Bodies deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures but most importantly brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature." --Michael Cronin, Irish Times "A striking feat, it deserves the world's attention . . . In revealing Omani history through marginalized voices, Celestial Bodies also lays bare those global forces that enable, amongst other things, unequal conditions of value and circulation. . . . Celestial Bodies does what the best literature does: it takes us out of ourselves only to bring us to a better understanding of our world."--Sarah Jilani, Frieze, Praise for Celestial Bodies "A book to win over the head and the heart in equal measure . . . Its delicate artistry draws us into a richly imagined community -- opening out to tackle profound questions of time and mortality and disturbing aspects of our shared history. The style is a metaphor for the subject, subtly resisting clichés of race, slavery and gender. The translation is precise and lyrical, weaving in the cadences of both poetry and everyday speech. Celestial Bodies evokes the forces that constrain us and those that set us free." --Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize "The glimpses into a culture relatively little known in the West are fascinating." --Jane Housham, The Guardian "To say that Celestial Bodies is a multi-generational saga simplifies what Alharthi has done, which is also to tell the story of how Oman has changed over the last century, from a traditional rural patriarchal society where Islam was complemented by Zar spirit worship, and which was among the last countries in the world to abolish slavery (in 1970), to an urban, oil-rich Gulf state. And she has done so in a form that shifts from voice to voice, viewpoint to viewpoint, decade to decade, sometimes within a single paragraph or sentence." --Aida Edemariam, The Guardian "This is not only the first novel originally written in Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize, but it is also the first book by a female Omani author to be translated into English, and is thus a major, exciting literary event." --Emily Temple, Literary Hub , One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year "The novel is a beautifully achieved account of lives pulling at the edges of change. The writing is teasingly elliptical throughout and there is a kind of poetic understatement that draws the reader into the domestic settings and public tribulations of the three sisters. . . . Celestial Bodies deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures but most importantly brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature." --Michael Cronin, Irish Times "A striking feat, it deserves the world's attention . . . In revealing Omani history through marginalized voices, Celestial Bodies also lays bare those global forces that enable, amongst other things, unequal conditions of value and circulation. . . . Celestial Bodies does what the best literature does: it takes us out of ourselves only to bring us to a better understanding of our world."--Sarah Jilani, Frieze, Praise for Celestial Bodies "A book to win over the head and the heart in equal measure . . . Its delicate artistry draws us into a richly imagined community -- opening out to tackle profound questions of time and mortality and disturbing aspects of our shared history. The style is a metaphor for the subject, subtly resisting clichés of race, slavery and gender. The translation is precise and lyrical, weaving in the cadences of both poetry and everyday speech. Celestial Bodies evokes the forces that constrain us and those that set us free." -- Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize "The glimpses into a culture relatively little known in the West are fascinating." -- Jane Housham, The Guardian "To say that Celestial Bodies is a multi-generational saga simplifies what Alharthi has done, which is also to tell the story of how Oman has changed over the last century, from a traditional rural patriarchal society where Islam was complemented by Zar spirit worship, and which was among the last countries in the world to abolish slavery (in 1970), to an urban, oil-rich Gulf state. And she has done so in a form that shifts from voice to voice, viewpoint to viewpoint, decade to decade, sometimes within a single paragraph or sentence." -- Aida Edemariam, The Guardian "This is not only the first novel originally written in Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize, but it is also the first book by a female Omani author to be translated into English, and is thus a major, exciting literary event." -- Emily Temple, Literary Hub , One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year This is a beautiful, fascinating book, which teaches us a great deal about Oman, Arab life and aspirations, and the swiftly changing relations between men and women and between the generations. It is a worthy recipient of this year's Man Booker International Prize." -- Maureen O'Rourke, The Times Literary Supplement "The novel is a beautifully achieved account of lives pulling at the edges of change. The writing is teasingly elliptical throughout and there is a kind of poetic understatement that draws the reader into the domestic settings and public tribulations of the three sisters. . . . Celestial Bodies deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures but most importantly brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature." -- Michael Cronin, Irish Times "A striking feat, it deserves the world's attention . . . In revealing Omani history through marginalized voices, Celestial Bodies also lays bare those global forces that enable, amongst other things, unequal conditions of value and circulation. . . . Celestial Bodies does what the best literature does: it takes us out of ourselves only to bring us to a better understanding of our world."-- Sarah Jilani, Frieze, Praise for Celestial Bodies "A book to win over the head and the heart in equal measure . . . Its delicate artistry draws us into a richly imagined community -- opening out to tackle profound questions of time and mortality and disturbing aspects of our shared history. The style is a metaphor for the subject, subtly resisting clichés of race, slavery and gender. The translation is precise and lyrical, weaving in the cadences of both poetry and everyday speech. Celestial Bodies evokes the forces that constrain us and those that set us free." -- Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize "[A] sweeping story of generational and societal change . . . The great strength of the novel lies in the ways this change is shown not as a steady progression from old to new but as a far more complicated series of small-scale transitions . . . A richly layered, ambitious work that teems with human struggles and contradictions, providing fascinating insight into Omani history and society." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Alharthi''s ambitious, intense novel--her first to be translated into English and winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize--examines the radical changes in Oman over the past century from the perspectives of the members of several interconnected families. With exhilarating results, Alharthi throws the reader into the midst of a tangled family drama in which unrequited love, murder, suicide, and adultery seem the rule rather than the exception . . . The novel rewards readers willing to assemble the pieces of Alharthi''s puzzle into a whole, and is all the more satisfying for the complexity of its tale." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The glimpses into a culture relatively little known in the West are fascinating." -- Jane Housham, The Guardian "To say that Celestial Bodies is a multi-generational saga simplifies what Alharthi has done, which is also to tell the story of how Oman has changed over the last century, from a traditional rural patriarchal society where Islam was complemented by Zar spirit worship, and which was among the last countries in the world to abolish slavery (in 1970), to an urban, oil-rich Gulf state. And she has done so in a form that shifts from voice to voice, viewpoint to viewpoint, decade to decade, sometimes within a single paragraph or sentence." -- Aida Edemariam, The Guardian "This is not only the first novel originally written in Arabic to win the Man Booker International Prize, but it is also the first book by a female Omani author to be translated into English, and is thus a major, exciting literary event." -- Emily Temple, Literary Hub , One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year This is a beautiful, fascinating book, which teaches us a great deal about Oman, Arab life and aspirations, and the swiftly changing relations between men and women and between the generations. It is a worthy recipient of this year''s Man Booker International Prize." -- Maureen O''Rourke, The Times Literary Supplement "The novel is a beautifully achieved account of lives pulling at the edges of change. The writing is teasingly elliptical throughout and there is a kind of poetic understatement that draws the reader into the domestic settings and public tribulations of the three sisters. . . . Celestial Bodies deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures but most importantly brings a distinctive and important new voice to world literature." -- Michael Cronin, Irish Times "A striking feat, it deserves the world''s attention . . . In revealing Omani history through marginalized voices, Celestial Bodies also lays bare those global forces that enable, amongst other things, unequal conditions of value and circulation. . . . Celestial Bodies does what the best literature does: it takes us out of ourselves only to bring us to a better understanding of our world."-- Sarah Jilani, Frieze
Dewey Edition23
Dewey Decimal892.7/37
SynopsisThis winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize and national bestseller is "an innovative reimagining of the family saga . . . Celestial Bodies is itself a treasure house: an intricately calibrated chaos of familial orbits and conjunctions, of the gravitational pull of secrets" ( The New York Times Book Review ). In the village of al-Awafi in Oman, we encounter three sisters: Mayya, who marries after a heartbreak; Asma, who marries from a sense of duty; and Khawla, who chooses to refuse all offers and await a reunion with the man she loves, who has emigrated to Canada. These three women and their families, their losses and loves, unspool beautifully against a backdrop of a rapidly changing Oman, a country evolving from a traditional, slave-owning society into its complex present. Through the sisters, we glimpse a society in all its degrees, from the very poorest of the local slave families to those making money through the advent of new wealth. The first novel originally written in Arabic to ever win the Man Booker International Prize, and the first book by a female Omani author to be translated into English, Celestial Bodies marks the arrival in the United States of a major international writer., Winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize NATIONAL BESTSELLER "An innovative reimagining of the family saga. . . there is no doubt that this is a contemporary novel, insistent and alive . . . Celestial Bodies is itself a treasure house: an intricately calibrated chaos of familial orbits and conjunctions, of the gravitational pull of secrets." -- The New York Times Book Review In the village of al-Awafi in Oman, we encounter three sisters: Mayya, who marries after a heartbreak; Asma, who marries from a sense of duty; and Khawla, who chooses to refuse all offers and await a reunion with the man she loves, who has emigrated to Canada. These three women and their families, their losses and loves, unspool beautifully against a backdrop of a rapidly changing Oman, a country evolving from a traditional, slave-owning society into its complex present. Through the sisters, we glimpse a society in all its degrees, from the very poorest of the local slave families to those making money through the advent of new wealth. The first novel originally written in Arabic to ever win the Man Booker International Prize, and the first book by a female Omani author to be translated into English, Celestial Bodies marks the arrival in the United States of a major international writer.
LC Classification NumberPJ7928.R58S2813 2019
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- 24 Feb, 2020
Inside story
Interesting stories told by family members. Needed a chart to explain all the people and relationships.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
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