Daughters

In this sweeping, uncommonly stirring narrative spanning 1883 to 1957, Baehr chronicles the lives of three Palestinian Christian womenMiriam Mishwe, her daughter Nadia and Nadia's adopted child, Nijmeheach fated to struggle with the competing claims of loyalty to family and love for a man. Growing up in the Palestinian village of Tamleh, near Jerusalem, Miriam submits to an arranged marriage with her cousin, Nadeem. Though her feelings for him deepen, he is conscripted by the Turks, and in his absence Miriam becomes passionately involved with Max Broder, a German physician whom she reluctantly leaves when Nadeem returns, badly injured. Miriam bears Max's child, Nadia, who also grows up to fall in love with a foreigner, but their romance, in turn, is thwarted by Miriam's vehement disapproval. The cycle continues with the orphaned Nijmeh, rescued from a plane wreck by Nadia, but Nadia's interference in her daughter's life results in terrible upheaval and tragedy. Of Palestinian Christian descent herself, Baehr writes grippingly of the clash between 20th century values and the traditions of a proud, ancient land. (July)