Join us

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Newsletter

Amira Ghenim

A Calamity of Noble Houses

Cover: A Calamity of Noble Houses - Amira Ghenim

Amira Ghenim

A Calamity of Noble Houses

2025, pp. 432, Hardcover
ISBN: 9798889660507
Translated by: Miled Faiza, Karen McNeil
Region: Tunisia
Available as ebook Available as ebook Available as ebook
$ 28.00

The book

A finalist for the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, a compelling saga of two families that illuminates the lives of women in modern Tunisia

Tunisia, 1930s. Against the backdrop of a country in turmoil, in search of its identity, the lives and destinies of the members of two important upper-class families of Tunis intertwine: the Ennaifer family, with a rigidly conservative and patriarchal mentality, and the Rassaa, open-minded and progressive. 

One terrible night in December 1935, the destiny of both families changes forever when Zbaida Ali Rassaa, the young wife of Mohsen Ennaifer, is accused of having had a clandestine love affair with Tahar Haddad, an intellectual of humble origins known for his union activism and support for women’s rights. The events of that fateful night are told by eleven different narrators, members of the two families, who recall them in different historical moments, from the 1940s to the present day. The result is a complex mosaic of secrets, memories, accusations, regrets, and emotions, taking the reader on an exciting journey through the stories of individuals caught up in the upheavals of history.  

The author

Amira Ghenim
Amira Ghenim is a Tunisian writer and academic, born in 1978. She teaches Linguistics and Translation at Tunis University.  Her novel The Yellow Dossier won the 2020 Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamad Prize. A Calamity of Noble Houses was published in 2020. 

Press

From the same country

  • Cover: The Italian - Shukri Mabkhout

    Shukri Mabkhout

    The Italian

    2021, pp. 368, $ 18.00
    Winner of the 2015 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, the most important literary prize in the Arab world, The Italian  tells an emblematic...

More suggestions

  • Cover: Madelaine Before the Dawn - Sandrine Collette

    Sandrine Collette

    Madelaine Before the Dawn

    2026, pp. 176, $ 18.00
    A Masterful New Novel by Sandrine Collette, One of France’s Most Daring and Acclaimed Writers.
  • Cover: A Mask the Color of the Sky - Bassem Khandaqji

    Bassem Khandaqji

    A Mask the Color of the Sky

    2026, pp. 224, $ 19.00
    A bold, psychologically rich novel of identity, exile, and resistance from one of Palestine’s most vital literary voices—written entirely from...
  • Cover: Ashland - Dan Simon

    Dan Simon

    Ashland

    2026, pp. 208, $ 26.00
    A deeply moving family story unfolding in richly evocative prose and a poetic portrayal of a town in decline during the final decades of the American...
  • Cover: Floodlines - Saleem Haddad

    Saleem Haddad

    Floodlines

    2026, pp. 336, $ 19.00
    A sweeping, multigenerational novel of art, exile, memory, and the enduring legacies of war—set between London and Baghdad in the shadow of the...
  • Cover: Tangerinn - Emanuela Anechoum

    Emanuela Anechoum

    Tangerinn

    2026, pp. 256, $ 19.00
    Winner of the Città di Lugnano Debut Novel Prize and a finalist for the Bancarella and Rapallo BPER Bank Prize
  • Cover: The Burning Origin - Daniele Mencarelli

    Daniele Mencarelli

    The Burning Origin

    2025, pp. 192, $ 18.00
    A searing story about homecoming and belonging set in contemporary Rome 

Join Our Newsletter and receive a FREE eBook!

Stay updated on Europa’s forthcoming releases, author tours and major news.

Are you a bookseller? Click here!

Are you a librarian? Click here!

X