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25 pages missing from the book I purchased!
A metaphor for Palestine
Taking a stand for freedom
Unanswerable questions
Excellent Reading

A Beggar at Damascus Gate
Yasmine Zahran
Manufacturer: Post Apollo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Pillars of Salt (Interlink World Fiction)
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I Saw Ramallah

ASIN: 0942996240

Book Description

Cold and alone in an ancient Palestinian village, a travelling archeologist finds the threads of a narrative that will direct his life for the coming decade. Its characters are a Palestinian woman, an English man, each deeply committed to the conflicting demands of love and national loyalties. As the narrator slowly pieces together the fate of the two unfortunate lovers, he also uncovers a tale of treachery, duplicity, and passion that highlights the contemporary plight of the enormous numbers of displaced Palestinians. Their final resolution surprises them both and reveals a depth to their commmitments that neither had previously realized.

Customer Reviews:

25 pages missing from the book I purchased!.......2006-11-24

It was a great book until I had to begin filling in the story line by myself! 25 pages were missing from the book, even though I paid full price for it..very disappointing to begin the story only to find that there are blank pages.

A metaphor for Palestine.......2006-04-15

This is a book of love and loss, of what is and what might have been. An archaeologist finds a personal journal in the closet of a small hotel in Jordan that describes the love affair between a Palestinian woman and an English man. Through the journal entries, the archaeologist tries to piece together their life. His curiosity leads to further inquiries in which he ultimately learns of the complex relationship and tragic destiny of the two lovers. Throughout the narrative, the suffering of the Palestinian people weighs heavily overhead. This is an outstanding book that is, at one level, a tragic love story between two people from different worlds. At another level, however, this narrative describes, in personal and intimate terms, what the Nakba did to the collective psyche of generations of Palestinians. This is a moving and beautiful novel, and I highly recommend it.

Taking a stand for freedom.......2003-12-09

A Beggar at Damascus Gate is a compilation of journal entries between a Palestinian woman and her British husband. The fact that they are husband and wife is problematic because of the colonization of Palestine by England. We are privy to these writings through the eyes of an archeologist who uncovers them in his hotel room in Petra. He is at first hesitant about reading them because he realizes that the correspondence is a look into the hearts and souls of two people who cannot prevent his intrusion. He overcomes this reluctance and decides to read the journals first because of his curiosity and finally because he wants to publish them.
The journals track the lives of the couple over many years and are filled with their private thoughts, implications of murder, conspiracy, spying, and revolutionary activities. Since the archeologist decided what entries to publish, it was hard for me to establish a connection with the couple. It was also evident that the archeologist was fascinated by Ryya, the wife, which at first created a bias for me against her husband. The archeologist also tries to mold Ryya into the traditional role of a woman, but he realizes that she does not fit this mold and is forced to give the reader a picture of the true woman.
There is nothing traditional about the lives of the couple and they spend more time apart than together. They travel together and separately throughout their time together and the mission that each is committed to performing is suspected by the other, even though they have no concrete evidence of this fact.
To view this novel as merely a love story is to miss the underlying symbolism of the fight for freedom and against oppression by one country over another. Ryya has one true love left in her life, and that is her homeland of Palestine. It was a place of peacefulness, sacredness, and happiness that she is no longer able to enjoy because of her revolutionary stance against the occupation of Palestine by Israel. Alex doesn't understand her feelings about her version of what her homeland is and means to her. His annoyance comes from the fact that he cannot empathize with her because he has never been on the receiving end of oppression.
The archeologist spends ten years of his life searching for the couple and comes to believe that he will never find them. The significance of the title is revealed at the end of the novel. This novel was well worth the time because it is also a mystery. We have to put the clues together to realize the full impact of the novel.

Unanswerable questions.......2003-12-08

I really enjoyed Yasmin Zahran's novel, A Beggar at Damascus Gate. I had trouble, however, in categorizing it. One could call it a mystery novel, a romance novel, a spy novel, or a historical piece, and be right on each account. It effectively combined all of those elements to create an intriguing, tense, and sobering portrait of a love affair that wasn't what it appeared to be. In fact, little is really as it appears in this novel. Zahran's characters live in a world of duplicity and betrayal.
The story takes shape in Petra, Jordan. A man named Foster, is holed up in an empty inn during the off season. Bored and cold, he stumbles upon a dusty canvas bag hidden in a closet. The bag contains letters, journals, and poetry that belonged to two lovers. Foster is fascinated by the papers and takes them. As he pores over the papers, he learns that the two lovers are named Rayya and Alex. Rayya is a Palestinian poet, beautiful and extroverted. Alex is a quiet Englishman, pale and sickly. I found them to be an odd couple that love brought together.
As Foster digs deeper into their lives, we see a relationship that goes from playful ribbing about each other's heritage to suspicion and accusations. We know Rayya is dedicated to the cause of Palestine. But how does Alex really feel? And is he really the man he portrays?
I found myself stepping into Foster's shoes. I wanted to know where these two lovers were. Were they still together? Were they still alive? I looked for clues in the story as well as in the journal entries of both characters. I got the impression that as the lovers learned more about each other, they became embroiled in something that was far bigger than both of them.
As Foster tracks the whereabouts of Alex and Rayya, he too realizes that there are much bigger forces at work. Walking down the wrong alley or asking the wrong question can awaken unseen dangers. The author effectively raises the tension level as comes to a seeming dead end. And when he finally does learn the `truth' about Alex and Rayya, it is anticlimactic, as life often is. The author avoids the usual clichés. Good doesn't always triumph over evil. The hero doesn't always get the girl in the end. No, I found that Zahran uses a more realistic approach. Life is an ongoing struggle with no absolute winners or losers.

Excellent Reading.......2003-08-09

Having received my copy of this novel as a free promotional copy, I did not expect much in terms of quality. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I began reading this intriguing novel, and could not put it down until I finished it in a single night! This is spy/love story, enclosed in the historical setting of Palestine in the immediate aftermath of the 1967 war. A beautifully poetic text weaves what turns out to be a highly suspenseful and symbolic novel. Even for people like me who thought they "knew it all" about Palestine, this novel brings with it fresh perspectives that deserve an ear. I was terribly sad when this novel was over. It evoked a lot of memories.

If you like this book you would definitely enjoy "Memory of the Flesh," by Ahlam Mustaghanmi.

A Beggar at the Gate
Average customer rating:

Great Part 2.

A thrilling tale

A real page turner!

I love this trilogy

terrific insightful historical tale

A Beggar at the Gate
Thalassa Ali
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

A Singular Hostage

Companions of Paradise

White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India

The Last Kashmiri Rose

The Feast of Roses: A Novel

ASIN: 0553381776
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Book Description

Set in nineteenth-century British India, Thalassa Ali’s dazzling debut, A Singular Hostage, introduced us to Mariana Givens, the Englishwoman who risked everything to save a young Indian orphan from certain death. Now Ali returns to that exotic kingdom beyond the northwestern frontier, where Mariana will come face-to-face with a different destiny.

Two years have passed since Mariana left the walled city of Lahore. But she’s unable to forget its haunting scent of roses or her ill-fated marriage to a native-born husband that has scandalized Calcutta society and made her an outcast among the English. Worse still, she bears the knowledge that she will be forced to give up Saboor—the boy believed to be endowed with magical gifts whose life she risked her own to save.

Now Mariana must revisit Lahore to return Saboor to his family and request a divorce from Hassan Ali Khan. But how can she say good-bye to the enigmatic man whose love defied two cultures—or the child she’s loved as her own? As political and civil strife threaten to erupt in violence, she seeks answers in a world no Englishwoman has ever seen. And she’s driven ever closer to a secret so powerful that it will change her life—and the lives of those she loves—forever.

Customer Reviews:

Great Part 2........2007-04-20

I lost track of Thalassa Ali after reading the first book in this series, so I was surprised to find that two more were finished. Although perhaps more of the romance novel than the first book, the second is a satisfying sequel. It continues to provide interesting detail about the time and place, the customs, beliefs, and prejudices while delivering an interesting plot and an engaging, if flawed, heroine. Having just finished this book, I can't wait to plunge into the next one.

A thrilling tale.......2005-12-14

This was one of the most entertaining books I've read in a while. If you love Indian or Hindu culture, you will love this book. Ali provides a unique look at this culture from the European perspective, at first judgemental, later accepting, and finally, by the end, you fall in love with the beauty of India. Her characters are 3 dimensional and well rounded. I highly recommend this book!

A real page turner!.......2004-11-30

By the time you get to this sequel of A SINGULAR HOSTAGE, you'll probably be as desperate as I was to find out what happens to the adventurous Mariana, her new husband Hassan (the marriage has yet to be consummated), her spiritually gifted stepson Saboor, and the other fascinating characters in this tale of Victorian India. I found it very hard to put the book down.

I adore the love story -- how delicately it grows out of almost teasingly brief encounters between two people culturally primed to misunderstand each other. I also love the way this trilogy takes you into a different world -- actually, many different worlds -- with part of the delight being the ironic juxtaposition of conflicting world views.

I'm not usually one for mystic plot turns, which do occur regularly in this trilogy, but Ali makes them work well, and along the way you gain an intriguing and sympathetic glimpse into Sufism and the history of what today is Pakistan.

My only complaint is that the final book in the trilogy isn't out yet. I can't wait to read it!

I love this trilogy.......2004-10-10

But WHY does it HAVE to be a trilogy? WHY couldn't it have been a big thick juicy blockbuster? This parceling out of the story in parsimonious portions is driving me BANANAS! I waited for over two years for the rest of the story and now I find out that I get just the middle and have to wait another YEAR for the end. Oh dear.

terrific insightful historical tale .......2004-09-29

In 1838 India, Englishwoman Mariana Givens arrives to find herself a suitable husband amongst the British military. Many officers want her, but instead she falls in love with a native baby Saboor whose mother died from poison.. During her quest to return the allegedly mystical infant to his father, Mariana falls in love and marries Hassan Ali Khan over the objections of both their societies.

Two years later Mariana realizes she has no place in the Indian world and remains the pariah of English society. She knows it is time to return to Lahore where her spouse lives and do two acts that will destroy her soul. She must return her beloved Saboor so that he can obtain his rightful place as a person supposedly gifted with magical abilities and she must obtain a divorce from Hassan. A heartbroken Mariana must say goodbye to the two native males that she loves for the sake of peace between two cultures on the verge of deadly conflict.

The sequel to SINGULAR HOSTAGE, A BEGGAR AT THE GATE is a terrific insightful historical tale with a touch of romanticism that brings to live mid eighteenth century India. The story line moves rather quickly yet not only has full blooded key characters, but also provides a deep window into two peoples at a point of major strife seemingly ready to turn deadly. Still the center of the novel is Mariana and her relationships with the two males she loves and with Indian and English societies. Readers will beg for more sequels especially what happens to the fascinating Saboor as an adult.

Harriet Klausner

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The beggar at the gate,: Poems,
Kathleen Millay
Manufacturer: H. Liveright, inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

A Beggar at Damascus Gate.: An article from: World Literature Today

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A Beggar at Damascus Gate.: An article from: World Literature Today
Marilyn Booth
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on January 1, 1997. The length of the article is 1114 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Beggar at Damascus Gate.
Author: Marilyn Booth
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1997
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: v71 Issue: n1 Page: p213(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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A beggar at the gate
Thalassa Ali
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QYDCQY

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Beggar at the Gate

Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 141766083X

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Beggar at the Gate
Thalassa Ali
Manufacturer: REVIEW (HEADLINE)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1QGW0

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