The Occasional Virgin: A Novel

Written by Hanan al-Shaykh

Narrated by Soneela Nankani

In this frank and fearless novel, acclaimed writer Hanan al-Shaykh follows the tumultuous lives and sometimes shocking choices of women successful in their careers but unlucky in love.
 
On a sunny beach on the Italian Riviera, two thirtysomething women, Yvonne and Huda, relax by the sparkling sea. But despite the setting, as their vacation unfolds, their complicated pasts seep through to the idyllic present. Both women spent their childhoods in Lebanon—Yvonne raised in a Christian family, Huda in a Muslim one—and they now find themselves torn between the traditional worlds they were born into and the successful professional identities they’ve created.
 
Three months later, when Huda (a theater director from Toronto) visits Yvonne (an advertising executive) in London, a chance encounter with a man at Speaker’s Corner leads to profound repercussions for them both. As the novel continues, each woman will undertake her own quest for love and romance, revenge and fulfillment. Witty and wry, The Occasional Virgin is a poignant and perceptive tale for our time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9780525634256

Hanan al-Shaykh

Hanan al-Shaykh was born and raised in Beirut. She is an acclaimed novelist and playwright, the author of The Story of Zahra, Women of Sand and Myrrh, Beirut Blues, The Locust and the Bird and Only in London, which was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. She lives in London.

Reviews for The Occasional Virgin

[fastforward-46127 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I started off really liking this story about two friends who grew up in Lebanon and now live in Canada and London. But sometime after their vacation in Italy was over, I just lost interest in the story. There's nothing worse than feeling bored while reading and by the time you are done with the book feeling like you didn't understand the characters or whatever point the author was trying to get across.

Thank you to First to Read for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy! Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me.