Olive Trees Around My Table

Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Olive Trees Around My Table by Cecile Yazbek, Cecile Yazbek
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Cecile Yazbek ISBN: 9780992489267
Publisher: Cecile Yazbek Publication: July 31, 2015
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Cecile Yazbek
ISBN: 9780992489267
Publisher: Cecile Yazbek
Publication: July 31, 2015
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

Olive trees around my table is the warm-hearted and, at times, heart-breaking story of Cecile Yazbek; a Lebanese girl growing up in the fifties and sixties under the shadow of the new apartheid system in South Africa.

Cecile paints a colourful portrait of her first generation South African Lebanese family: its faults, idiosyncrasies, shameful secrets and strengths. A family aware of the injustices perpetrated in the society, aware enough to take action where possible yet simultaneously benefiting from the privilege, advantages and eventual wealth accorded it, by being part of the ruling elite population.

This very human story vividly describes how racism, as it destroys lives around her, intrudes on Cecile’s own life through the streams of powerless people seeking out her politically active father. Shattering events at home and brushes with the secret police at university force Cecile to the conclusion that she must leave this society.

Cecile ultimately finds refuge in the undulating hills surrounding Australia’s Byron Bay but just as she settles into her new life in Australia, her own migration experience begins to resonate with the isolation and alienation of her grandparents in South Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. Suddenly, distant lives become close and Cecile knows she must find a way to put the ghosts of her family’s past to rest if she is to find peace in her new life.

Sifting through her memories and reacquainting herself with the hilarious, heroic and sometimes scandalous deeds of her extended family’s past, Cecile finds harmony as she builds a new life for her children in Australia, her Lebanese-African childhood furnishing her memory and life with a rich and vibrant colour.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Olive trees around my table is the warm-hearted and, at times, heart-breaking story of Cecile Yazbek; a Lebanese girl growing up in the fifties and sixties under the shadow of the new apartheid system in South Africa.

Cecile paints a colourful portrait of her first generation South African Lebanese family: its faults, idiosyncrasies, shameful secrets and strengths. A family aware of the injustices perpetrated in the society, aware enough to take action where possible yet simultaneously benefiting from the privilege, advantages and eventual wealth accorded it, by being part of the ruling elite population.

This very human story vividly describes how racism, as it destroys lives around her, intrudes on Cecile’s own life through the streams of powerless people seeking out her politically active father. Shattering events at home and brushes with the secret police at university force Cecile to the conclusion that she must leave this society.

Cecile ultimately finds refuge in the undulating hills surrounding Australia’s Byron Bay but just as she settles into her new life in Australia, her own migration experience begins to resonate with the isolation and alienation of her grandparents in South Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. Suddenly, distant lives become close and Cecile knows she must find a way to put the ghosts of her family’s past to rest if she is to find peace in her new life.

Sifting through her memories and reacquainting herself with the hilarious, heroic and sometimes scandalous deeds of her extended family’s past, Cecile finds harmony as she builds a new life for her children in Australia, her Lebanese-African childhood furnishing her memory and life with a rich and vibrant colour.

More books from Biography & Memoir

Cover of the book From Ungvar to Beverly Hills by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book 對策-突破企業文化建設的難點 by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Conditions of the Heart by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Medal Of Honor:From Antietam To Afghanistan by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Lettre a la presidente,voyage en Italie.1850 by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Søren Kierkegaard by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Mary's Mosaic by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book STANGUELLINI il “mago” dei motori by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Will Work for Drugs by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book My Father the Spy by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Dare to Dream by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Confessions of a Thug and a Gentleman by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Kyrenia's Legend by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Outcast: A Jewish Girl in Wartime Berlin by Cecile Yazbek
Cover of the book Das geheime Leben der Bienen by Cecile Yazbek
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy