An Unnecessary Woman

Acclaimed author Alameddine (The Hakawati) here relates the internal struggles of a solitary, elderly woman with a passion for books. From her Beirut apartment, Aaliya Sohbi devotes her time to translating works of literature from various languages into Arabic. She then stores her translations in boxes and crates in the so-called maid's room and shares them with no one. Aaliya also eavesdrops on the neighbors and remembers childhood days, her unhappy marriage, and the war years, when she defended her apartment with an AK-47. She has few of the usual consolations of old age and does not fit the traditional roles assigned to women. Aaliya's life may seem like a burden or even "unnecessary" to others since she is divorced and childless, but her humor and passion for literature bring tremendous richness to her day-to-day life—and to the reader's.