Alexandre Najjar is a Lebanese lawyer and writer who serves as an advisor to the Minister of Culture and oversees the literary supplement of the newspaper L'Orient-le Jour. His novels, written in French and translated into Arabic, delve into themes of migration and conflict. Beyond his fiction, he has also authored influential essays, including a widely translated study on Khalil Gibran. His work critically examines the complexities of cultural identity and the human condition, offering profound insights through a distinctive literary voice.
Alexandre Najjar's father is celebrated in his legal profession for his rare eloquence. In the courtroom the word is everything, and his work is his life. He is also the father of six children, in whom he instils great fear, imposing military discipline. Behind this discipline, however, lies an affectionate man, brimming with humour and curiosity.
Examines Gibran's letters, his publisher's archives and documents, revealing the extent of his influence and the extraordinary message of peace and hope in his work. This work retraces Gibran's life, from humble beginnings in Lebanon to his artistic training in Paris and meteoric rise to fame in the US, his adopted home.
Alexandre Najjar, Libanese wie Khalil Gibran, erzählt das außergewöhnliche Schicksal dieses aufbegehrenden Visionärs, der die arabische Literatur emanzipierte und die englische Sprache mit Talent handhabte. Sein Wesen war geprägt durch familiäre Tragödien; doch stets bereit, seinen Glauben an die allumfassende Liebe zu verteidigen, hat Gibran uns eine Botschaft des Friedens und der Hoffnung hinterlassen. '. weil er ausgiebig aus Gibrans Briefwechsel zitiert und menschliche Schwächen. nicht ausspart, kommt uns Gibran schließlich, bei aller Überhöhung, der auch Najjar nicht entgeht, näher als in anderen Biographien.' (Andreas Pflitsch)
Alexandre Najjar was eight when Lebanon erupted into a bloody and brutal conflict; he was twenty-three when the guns at last fell silent. After seven years of voluntary exile, he is now back amongst his family and friends, and the past is quickly catching up with him. This work offers insights into the experience of childhood in war.
Erzählung über eine Kindheit im libanesischen Bürgerkrieg.