Published by Rowohlt in Germany, Nathalie Abi-Ezzi's novel A GIRL MADE OF DUST made it onto a shortlist of 5 women authors for the 2011 LiBeraturpreis.
The prize has been awarded since 1988 by the ecumenical church in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The winner will be announced on October 9th in Frankfurt during the Book Fair.
A GIRL MADE OF DUST was shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel 2008, Waverton Good Read Award 2009 and the Desmond Elliott Prize 2009 and longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2010. The film script was shortlisted for the Shasha Screenwriting Grant 2010.
In the novel eight-year-old Ruba lives in a village near Beirut, in 1980s Lebanon, as civil war divides her country. Her father’s depression threatens their livelihood, and her brother runs wild with boys with guns. As Ruba decides she has to save her family, Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, but in the end love and family prevail.
Published in the UK by Fourth Estate and Harper Perennial, A GIRL MADE OF DUST has also been sold in several countries around the world, including to Random in Canada and Grove Atlantic in the US. Translation rights are sold in Germany, Holland, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania, Spain and Turkey.
Praise for A GIRL MADE OF DUST
'Captivating…A subtle, pertinent depiction of civilian life in the midst of bewildering conflict.' -- Catherine Taylor, The Guardian
'A simple, honest story…Loosely based on her childhood experiences, Abi-Ezzi's novel is a testimony to survival.' -- Rebecca Starford, The Australian
'A compelling chronicle of innocence lost…Abi-Ezzi portrays the child's awakening to the cruelties of life as both heartbreaking and profound, successfully eluding the clichés associated with the coming-of-age novel while simultaneously generously enriching its vocabulary.' -- Val Nolan, The Sunday Business Post