A Girl Made of Dust

By Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

A rich and beautiful novel set during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, and based on the author's personal experiences of the conflict.

Ten-year-old Ruba lives in a village outside Beirut. From her family home, she can see the buildings shimmering on the horizon and the sea stretched out beside them. She can also hear the rumble of the shelling – this is Lebanon in the 1980s and civil war is tearing the country apart.

Ruba however has her own worries. Her father hardly ever speaks and spends most of his days sitting in his armchair, avoiding work and family. Her mother looks so sad that Ruba thinks her heart might have withered in the heat like a fig. Her elder brother, Naji, has started to spend his time with older boys – and some of them have guns.

When Ruba decides she has to save her father, and when she uncovers his secret, she begins a journey which takes her from childhood to the beginnings of adulthood. As Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, she realises that she may not be able to keep her family safe.

This is a first novel with tremendous heart, which captures both a country and a childhood in turmoil.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Feb 16, 2009
• ISBN: 9780007287192

Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

Born in 1972 in the Metn region of Lebanon, Nathalie and her family moved to England in 1983 when Israel invaded Lebanon. She won the Radio 4 Dotdotdot short story competition in 2001. She is the author of 'The Double in the Fiction of R.L. Stevenson, Wilkie Collins and Daphne du Maurier' (2003) and has co-edited various books for Usborne.

Reviews for A Girl Made of Dust

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is told through the eyes of the young girl of the family. She doesn't always understand what she is seeing, and there's a lot to take in, the family dynamic and the encroaching war. There's a lot to untangle, and I think that the impact of war as both an ever present background and an added complication to growing up is very well portrayed. Things that seem incredible are everyday, as that's just the way life is. The escalation of violence is quite startling, and yet the humanity with which people face it is heartwarming. At the end things have changed, in some ways for the better, despite the situaiton not having improved.

[moniica_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: Set in Lebanon, 8 year-old Ruba is forced to grow up quickly during the 1982 Israeli invasion. Her father refuses to open the shop and instead sits in his armchair all day, her 10 year-old brother Naji has been acting suspiciously and hanging out with tough older boys and many of her classmates have fled the country. My Opinion: This is one of those books that does not focus solely on a plot - instead it tells of the day-to-day life of Ruba. It is a quick read and gives an interesting perspective of war from the point of view of an 8 year-old.

[libraryinfoservice_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

SEPTEMBER 2010. Beautifully written fiction with the tragic impact of the Lebanon-Israel 1982 civil war told through the eyes of a 10 year old girl. Such strength of spirit and strong family values displayed by the some of the characters. Very refreshing.

[labfs39 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A Girl Made of Dust is set in Lebanon in 1982 during the Israeli Invasion. I enjoyed this coming of age story because of its simultaneously naive and wise protagonist, Ruba, and because I know so little of this country and the invasion. The plot line was simple, a family secret that is slowly explained and resolved during the course of the book, and the characters sweet. What intrigued me was the hints of conflict glimpsed only by the corner of the reader's eye: Maronites, Greek Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Sunni, Shi'a, and Druze all living cheek to jowl; the confusion by the Lebanese as to whether the Israeli invasion will help remove the Palestinian terrorists or simply cause unwanted war; the destruction of Beirut and the killing of civilians by both sides. These oblique topics intrigue me to read more about the history of the region, even though they are not the focus of the book per se.

[meggyweg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a beautifully written novel that is, I think, suitable for both children and adults. The author is able to show the horrors of war without compromising the authenticity of the child's narrative voice -- and that's a very delicate balancing act. She was also able to let the reader know what was going on without being overly didactic -- I know NOTHING about Israel's invasion of Lebanon, but I could get just enough from this book to be able to understand the story, and it made me curious to learn more.

[catien_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Told through the eyes of 8-year-old Ruba, this is the story of one family trying to survive in 1980s Lebanon as the country is being attacked by Israel. This is a story of lost innocence, religious prejudice, violence, and family ties. The book starts out slow, but if the reader is patient, the book picks up about a third of the way through, and you begin rooting for this family to survive. Vivid descriptions of the war-torn countryside of Lebanon gives the reader many "feels like I'm there" moments.

[alexdraven · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Child's perspective mirroring individuals looking at the big political perspective. Narrowly Ruba's POV, so the picture we get of those around her shifts over the book, and things skip around based on what's important to a ten year old.Neither this, nor the pure lyricism of the language, hides the horrors of the war that's lapping closer and closer to Ruba's home, but almost all of it's so inexplicable to her, and the things that really terrify her - her brother getting shot, say - resolve positively, so the overall book is quite a peaceful, hopeful read.Very evocative and rich, beautiful language, strong and sometimes unexpected images, works in unfamiliar vocabulary almost seemlessly (I'm not sure if I'd have noticed the 'use Lebonese word, later in para gloss in English' structure to that if I hadn't edited.) Made me want to go and read up more on the conflict in order to get a clearer idea of the world around this story, and also the about the author - this felt quite biographical.Not my usual genre, but an enjoyable book.