Book Review: Living through conflict in Lebanon

Author Sami Hermez presents a fascinating look at the patterns of war and peace in Lebanon.
Updated 28 January 2018
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Book Review: Living through conflict in Lebanon

The title of this book does not reflect the content. In other words, author Sami Hermez is not speculating on the probabilities of another war in Lebanon and is instead trying to explain how Lebanese from all political parties lived during the war and why they cannot forget the memories of past conflicts. He talks of how an impromptu conversation, a family gathering or a lunch with friends can turn into a discussion about both past and future violence.
Although this book may lead to a broader understanding of violence in countries experiencing conflicts, such as Afghanistan and Iraq, Lebanon remains a unique case. In this small country coexists 18 religions and, since 2007, 81 political parties. The first intercommunal fighting that the book discusses took place between the Druze and the Maronite communities in the Mount Lebanon area from 1838 till 1860. A century later, the 1948 Palestine war caused the exodus of 700,000 Palestinian refugees. The civil war, which began in July 1958, was fought between forces for and against the Baghdad Pact. Then, the clashes between the Lebanese Phalanges Party and the Palestine Liberation Organization on April 13, 1975, marked the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War followed in December 1975 by the Christian militia’s massacre of Muslims in Beirut, known as Black Saturday. Since then, Lebanon has been enmeshed in an open-ended cycle of violence. The 15-year-long civil war, which ended in 1990, was not a continuous war, but a series of battles followed by numerous cease-fires. In July 2006, Israel waged a month-long war on Lebanon followed a year later by an armed insurrection in the Nahr Al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp between the Lebanese army and Fateh Al-Islam. The first decade of the new millennium followed this pattern, with multiple tense periods of hostility and fighting.
The people who stayed in the country adapted to this new way of life, a pattern of periods of war followed by a temporary state of peace. However, it is when the armed confrontation has ceased and life regains a sense of normalcy that people believe that war is always on the horizon. “Political violence continues to structure our daily lives in supposed peacetime,” the author writes.
Despite the tensions, the Lebanese people have always tried to lead a normal life during the periods of war. “While the war went on above and around us, while the displaced tended to their lives…we ate at Roadster, had meetings, went out for a drink, worked on humanitarian relief operations and conducted our everyday lives the way we saw fit,” says Dima, an architect and grassroots activist who is interviewed in the book.
The author himself recalls his feelings and how quickly he adapted to the situation when he was in a combat zone during the war in 2006. After being picked up by the army for taking pictures too close to a military base, he ended up spending the night in jail. He learned that other convicts had been evacuated because military locations were targeted by the Israelis. Hermez heard the bombs exploding in the distance, all the time wondering if the next one would hit the prison. “Fear struck me as I anticipated the bombs and heard the explosions, followed by the momentary calm of knowing this time my location was not the target. I was exhausted and soon, despite the fear, I fell asleep on the humid ground, separated from it by a thin, hard, rancid mat. Something about the bombings made them both absent and present though their sounds and the potential to annihilate me at any moment, an absent presence that I managed to acquaint myself with enough to sleep through much of the night.”
During the 2006 war, Broummana, a lovely town nestled in the mountains, was the place to be if you wanted to have fun despite the war. Many Lebanese believed that going out with friends and having a good time was a normal thing to do.
“Publicly, at the same time, I often heard the outings defended as a form of resilience, a motivation to keep the economy moving, or as another form of resistance known as ‘sumud,’ or perseverance,” Hermez writes.
Almost bizarrely, many Lebanese from all walks of life told the author how they wished the days of war would return.
Indeed the so-called golden years of Lebanon, and Beirut in particular, took place from the 1960s to the 1970s — the era of war and strife. Power blackouts and garbage blocking the streets are said to have been less common during the war than they are today. Some claim that that even in the middle of the civil war there was more hope for the country than there is today.
In the end, the Lebanese attitude to violence is based to the principle of “No Victor, No Vanquished.” Saeb Salam, a former prime minister, was the first to coin the slogan that implies that political parties or sects in Lebanon cannot eliminate each other. All political groupings must be represented in the political system. This principle has been constantly evoked after each conflict to ensure “coexistence and national unity” in order for Lebanon to remain a place that is tolerant.
The author highlights the fact that the lack of winners and losers “contributes to the idea that the causes of the war are unresolved…The political leadership in Lebanon is responsible for the continuation of violence, which not only remains a central and societal concern to this day but also facilitates its reemergence in the future.”


Book Review: ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’

Updated 12 June 2025
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Book Review: ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’

  • Final work by the renowned physicist combines complex scientific ideas with accessible explanations, making it a must-read for anyone curious about the cosmos

Stephen Hawking’s “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of science’s most profound mysteries, offering insights into the origins of the universe and humanity’s place within it. 

Published in 2018, this final work by the renowned physicist combines complex scientific ideas with accessible explanations, making it a must-read for anyone curious about the cosmos. 

Hawking begins by addressing how the universe came into existence. He explains that the laws of physics are sufficient to describe the universe’s origins, suggesting that it could arise from a state of nothingness due to the balance of positive and negative energy. 

By linking this to the nature of time, which began alongside the universe itself, he offers a perspective grounded in scientific reasoning. 

The book also delves into the evolution of the universe and the evidence supporting it. Hawking discusses how the redshift of light from distant galaxies confirms the universe’s expansion, while the cosmic microwave background radiation provides a glimpse into its dense, hot beginnings. 

Through the anthropic principle, he demonstrates how the unique conditions of our universe make life possible, underscoring how rare such conditions are. 

Hawking also considers the possibility of extraterrestrial life, suggesting that while life may exist elsewhere, intelligent civilizations are unlikely to be nearby or at the same stage of development. He cautions against attempts to communicate with alien life, warning that such interactions could pose risks to humanity. 

One of the book’s most intriguing sections explores black holes. Hawking examines their immense density, the singularity at their core, and the paradox of information loss. He explains how black holes might release information as they evaporate, preserving the fundamental laws of physics. 

Beyond its scientific insights, the book is a call to action. Hawking urges readers to prioritize scientific progress, safeguard the planet, and prepare for the challenges of the future. 

Though some sections may challenge non-experts, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” remains accessible, inspiring, and deeply insightful — a fitting conclusion to Hawking’s extraordinary legacy. 
 


What We Are Reading Today: Freedom Season by Peniel E. Joseph

Updated 12 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Freedom Season by Peniel E. Joseph

In Freedom Season,  Peniel E. Joseph offers a stirring narrative history of 1963, marking it as the defining year of the Black freedom struggle.
By year’s end the murders of John F. Kennedy, Medgar Evers, and four Black girls at a church in Alabama left the nation determined to imagine a new way forward. “Freedom Season” shows how the upheavals of 1963 planted the seeds for watershed civil rights legislation and renewed hope in the promise and possibility of freedom.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Pocket Instructor: Writing’

Updated 11 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Pocket Instructor: Writing’

Editors: Amanda Irwin Wilkins, Keith Shaw

“The Pocket Instructor: Writing” offers 50 practical exercises for teaching students the core elements of successful academic writing. 

The exercises — created by faculty from a broad range of disciplines and institutions — are organized along the arc of a writing project, from brainstorming and asking analytical questions to drafting, revising, and sharing work with audiences outside traditional academia.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Emperor of Gladness’

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Updated 11 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Emperor of Gladness’

  • Reading “The Emperor of Gladness” felt like embarking on an emotional journey that resonated deeply with me

Author: Ocean Vuong

As an avid reader, I often search for books that not only tell compelling stories but also touch the depths of my soul.

Ocean Vuong’s “The Emperor of Gladness’ is a book that captivated me in ways I did not expect. From its opening pages, I knew I was in for a transformative experience.

Vuong, a Vietnamese-American poet and novelist, is known for his lyrical and poignant style that explores themes of identity, family, and the immigrant experience.

His debut novel this year follows the success of his award-winning poetry collections, including “Night Sky with Exit Wounds,” which garnered critical acclaim and established him as a significant voice in contemporary literature.

Reading “The Emperor of Gladness” felt like embarking on an emotional journey that resonated deeply with me. Sometimes you do not just read a book; you bleed through it.

Vuong’s lyrical prose enveloped me, drawing me into the intricate lives of his characters. I found myself captivated by their struggles and triumphs, each story reflecting the complexities of identity and family ties.

This is my second five-star book of the year, and the magic of it still lingers, like an unsolved riddle in the back of my mind.

Vuong has a remarkable ability to weave together themes of love and trauma, striking a chord that reminded me of my own experiences searching for belonging.

His vivid imagery made me feel as if I was walking alongside the characters, experiencing their joys and sorrows firsthand.

I was particularly moved by how he portrayed the Vietnamese-American experience, capturing the nuances of culture and the weight of history. Each character felt real and relatable, navigating their paths in a world that can often feel isolating.

What stayed with me long after I finished the book was the tenderness with which Vuong approached his characters. This novel is not just a story; it is an exploration of what it means to be human, to love, and to endure.

Overall, “The Emperor of Gladness” is a beautifully crafted work that left a lasting impact on me. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates lyrical storytelling and the exploration of identity.

 


Review: Aria Aber’s debut novel ‘Good Girl’ marks her as a writer to watch

Updated 11 June 2025
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Review: Aria Aber’s debut novel ‘Good Girl’ marks her as a writer to watch

JEDDAH: In her debut novel “Good Girl,” German-born poet Aria Aber writes a raw tableau of contemporary German society, plunging readers into post-9/11 psyche through the eyes of Nila, a 19-year-old Afghan German girl.

As Nila stumbles through Berlin’s underground techno scene, the city emerges as a character that, like her, is fractured and being forged anew. Berlin seems to be in the throes of struggling to reinvent itself amidst rising Islamophobia and neo-Nazi violence, while Nila’s quest for selfhood emerges in her rebellion against the suffocating expectations imposed on Afghan girls and the identity crisis born out of living in a society that seems suspicious of her presence.

It's a tale as old as the human desire for movement and refuge: Nila is too Afghan for German society, and too German for the Afghan community, with both watching her every move. Aber’s raw and fragmented narrative style mirrors her character’s splintered identity while capturing her “violent desire” to live and her aching need to belong and to be accepted as she is.

Though the novel occasionally stumbles with uneven pacing and moments that may seem repetitive or overwritten, what sets it apart is the author’s refusal to sanitize or sermonize. Nila’s messy, unconventional path to self-discovery remains unapologetically hers.

The emotional core of the novel lies in the tension between expectations placed on girls and the honor-based abuse that simmers beneath. Nila’s parents, progressive by diaspora standards, permit her artistic pursuits and eschew strict traditions. Yet their insistence on a “good girl” image still carries an undercurrent of control that constrains her freedom.

Ultimately, “Good Girl” is a young woman’s howl against a world that demands she shrink, marking Aber as a writer to watch.