The Story of Zahra

Examine the ending of The Story of Zahra. How does the novel’s ending tie into larger themes of violence? Hopelessness? Powerlessness?

How does abandonment function throughout the narrative? What might it say about Lebanon’s leaders during the Civil War?

What function do the chapters narrated by Hashem and Majed serve?

Why do the chapter titles and divisions disappear in Part 2 of The Story of Zahra? How does the narrative shift at this point, and how do these stylistic choices underscore that shift?

The novel often shows characters engaged in the routines of domesticity, labor, and daily life. How does The Story of Zahra examine the relationship between the personal and the political? Does this change when the war enters the narrative? How so?

Memory and dreams are important to all of the characters in the novel and figure heavily in both Zahra and Hashem’s narratives. How do memory and dreams operate in the novel? What purpose do they serve? How do they change the direction of the narrative, if at all?

What is the role of the Qarina for Zahra? How does the Qarina impact her understanding of herself as a woman? Why do you think al-Shaykh included it?

Discuss the novel’s depiction of the medical system. How does that depiction intersect with the novel’s portrayal of patriarchy?