Bitter Orange Tree

Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction 2023 · Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2023

Zuhour, an Omani student at a British university, is caught between the past and the present. As she attempts to form friendships and assimilate in Britain, she can’t help but ruminate on the relationships that have been central to her life. Most prominent is her strong emotional bond with Bint Aamir, a woman she always thought of as her grandmother, who passed away just after Zuhour left the Arabian Peninsula. As the historical narrative of Bint Aamir’s challenged circumstances unfurls in captivating fragments, so too does Zuhour’s isolated and unfulfilled present, one narrative segueing into another as time slips, and dreams mingle with memories.

The new novel by the International Booker Prize-winning author of Celestial Bodies, Bitter Orange Tree is a profound exploration of social status, wealth, desire and female agency: a mosaic portrait of one young woman's attempt to understand the roots she has grown from, and to imagine an adulthood in which her own power and happiness might flourish. Translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth.