House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East (Library)
When Anthony Shadid--one of four New York Times reporters captured in Libya as the region erupted--was freed, he went home, not to Boston, Beirut, or Oklahoma, where he was raised by his Lebanese American family, but to an ancient estate built by his great-grandfather, a place filled with memories of a lost era when the Middle East was a world of grace, grandeur, and unexpected departures. For two years previous, Shadid had worked to reconstruct the house and restore his spirit after both had weathered war. Now the author of the award-winning Night Draws Near tells the story of the house's re-creation, revealing its mysteries and recovering the lives that have passed through it. Shadid juxtaposes past and present as he traces the house's renewal along with his family's flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America. House of Stone is an unforgettable memoir of the world's most volatile landscape and the universal yearning for home.
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Neil Shah is an Audie-nominated narrator and winner of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards who has recorded over 150 audiobooks. AudioFile magazine has commended him for "an absolutely mesmerizing listening experience" and as "an outstanding narrator who adds a healthy dose of personality to each of the characters." As a classically trained actor with an MFA from the Old Globe/University of San Diego, he has appeared off Broadway and on regional stages, as well as in film and television. He records from his home studio in Portland, Oregon.
"Shadid's beautifully rendered memoir is a rich account of a man's gradual immersion into the world of [the] Middle East where the rooms and hallways of his great-grandfather's house tell stories that will linger with every reader for decades."
-- "Andre Aciman, New York Times bestselling author""To some reporters, the Middle East is a 'story.' To Anthony Shadid, one of the best journalists working today, it is life itself. His love of the place and its people resonates in every word of this lovely book."
-- "Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times bestselling author""Anthony Shadid has written a beautiful and timeless book about a broken place and a breaking man. House of Stone is poignant, aching, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. It is a story of history and healing, and Shadid's writing is so lyrical it's like hearing a song."
-- "David Finkel, Pulitizer Prize-winning author of The Good Soldiers""Anthony Shadid's House of Stone is a haunting, beautifully realized piece of writing. With the poignancy of an exile and the eye of a reporter, Shadid juxtaposes past and present not only to tell the story of his family's house and what happened there, but also to take us back to a Middle East we had forgotten, a place of grace, dignity, and diversity. He illuminates what has been and what is in the Middle East."
-- "Nick Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City "The main narrative of House of Stone concerns the rebuilding of the house. Interwoven with this is Shadid's account of his ancestors and their world...A powerful reminder of the impact that never-ending insecurity has on people long after the violence that ruined their lives has been forgotten by the rest of the world.
-- "New York Times Book Review"An honest-to-God, hands-down, undeniable, and instant classic. This is a book about war, and terrible loss, and a troubled region, and his own tattered family history...Both a compulsive read and one you don't want to end.
-- "Dave Eggers""A riveting, soulful, and candid journey."
-- "Robin Wright""A profound meditation on history, friendship, politics, and the indelible music that guides us home."
-- "Phil Bennett""A nostalgic, bittersweet journey back to the Lebanese homestead...A gentle unfolding of observation and insight, as the author reacquaints himself with the Arabic rhythms, 'absorbing beauties, and documenting what was no more.' A complicated, elegiac, beautiful attempt to reconcile the physical bayt (home) and the spiritual."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
