Bitter Orange Tree

An extraordinary novel from a Man Booker International Prize-winning author that follows one young Omani woman as she builds a life for herself in Britain and reflects on the relationships that have made her from a "remarkable" writer who has "constructed her own novelistic form" (James Wood, The New Yorker).

From Man Booker International Prize-winning author Jokha Alharthi, Bitter Orange Tree is a profound exploration of social status, wealth, desire, and female agency. It presents a mosaic portrait of one young woman's attempt to understand the roots she has grown from, and to envisage an adulthood in which her own power and happiness might find the freedom necessary to bear fruit and flourish.

Zuhour, an Omani student at a British university, is caught between the past and the present. As she attempts to form friendships and assimilate in Britain, she can't help but ruminate on the relationships that have been central to her life. Most prominent is her strong emotional bond with Bint Amir, a woman she always thought of as her grandmother, who passed away just after Zuhour left the Arabian Peninsula.

As the historical narrative of Bint Amir's challenged circumstances unfurls in captivating fragments, so too does Zuhour's isolated and unfulfilled present, one narrative segueing into another as time slips and dreams mingle with memories.

Author: Jokha Alharthi
Publisher: Catapult
Published: 05/10/2022
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.50w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781646220038

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 12/01/2021 pg. 5
Publishers Weekly 03/07/2022
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2022
Booklist 04/01/2022 pg. 14
Library Journal 04/01/2022 pg. 75