In the beginning, reading Beirut Blues seems like being dropped in the middle of a multi-person conversation without knowing who is involved or what they are talking about. There is a tedium to filling in the gaps as you are reading. With "Dear ---" it is obvious from the beginning someone is writing a letter. It takes a little deduction to figure out who is writing the letter and who is her intended audience. There is a lot to fill in within the lines. But, throughout Asmahan's letters there is passionate reverberation and a running commentary on her beloved Beirut before, during and after the civil war. Most of these letters will probably never reach their intended audience and that fact adds another layer of mystery to them. One of the saddest letters to read is the one Asmahan writes to her grandmother. She focuses on her grandfather's emotional and physical relationship romance with a much younger girl. It becomes startling clear when Asmahan sees the girl's bruises and pictures her grandfather leaving them on his young lover. It's a ride awakening to a different culture. ( )

Unusual book - fictional "memoir" of a group of upper class Lebanese Muslim/Palestinian intellectuals who individually chose different paths during the conflicts of the late '60's to '90's. Most chose to leave, few (including the narrator) chose to stay. The book is written as a series of letters to both human and inatimate players in the great tragedy of the demise of Beirut in particular. Somewhat difficult to follow, certainly difficult to empathize with the protaganist. ( )

"Like Scheherazade telling stories, Asmahan writes letters - to friends,
lovers, heroines - as if her life depended on it. Engaging, provocative and
poignant, like its heroine, this novel vividly conjures up a woman's life and
loves in a war-torn city." --back cover