Lebanese literature, for the past few years, has been flooded with stories about and of the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). Up till now the literature has been redundant, written mostly, in English, Arabic or French, by people who are somehow well off, able to move freely between places and spaces - especially away from Lebanon and thus the zone of conflict and danger. Some novelists, the likes of Abdul Rihman Munif, have stated that "The" Lebanese war novel is yet to be written. Since most stories resemble one another, I haven't been extremely excited to read another one. But I was wrong. This novel is worth every second i spent holding it. It is brilliantly written, touchy, true and real. You might even shed a few tears at the very end. A highly recommendable read, it is too bad it hadn't won the prize it deserved. I haven't read the winning book yet (The Druze of Belghrad), so I can't really judge there. But what i can truly say in complete honesty is that this book is a must read.