Hatoum tells of twin brothers, pitted against each other from their birth, in a tale that mirrors the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The story is set in the Brazilian city of Manaus, amidst the sweltering Amazonian heat, where Omar and Yaqub have been born to well-to-do Lebanese immigrants. Zana, their mother, prefers Omar above all her other children and, as a result, confines him, through her love, to a life of attachment. Yaqub, after a boyhood fight with his twin, is sent to live with relatives in Lebanon, and remains aloof to his family from then on, only to return with a vengeful spirit. Omar’s jealousy of his brother’s intelligence, success, and ability to escape from the suffocating world his family has created causes hatred to grow and fester within. As Omar continues down his self-destructive path, and as Yaqub continues to win wealth and acclaim, their family, along with the city of Manaus itself, begins to fall into ruin. Hatoum masterfully deals with universal truths of love, envy, jealousy, competition, and rage. Gripping, heartbreaking, and breathtaking. Michael Spinella Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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By a noted Brazilian author, this novel relates the story of several generations of a large family of Lebanese immigrants living in Manaus. Dominating the family is the matriarch, Emilie. The story ranges back and forth in time, told by different narrators, including Hakim, one of Emilie’s sons; Dorner, a photographer who is a family friend; and one of the two boys that Emilie adopts. From the death of her beloved brother Emir before she marries, and the illegitimate pregnancy of her only daughter, Samara, through the tragic accident that kills Samara’s deaf-and-dumb daughter, Soraya Angela, the loss of her husband, and other family disasters, Emilie provides the family’s strength and the unifying thread. Her death and funeral begin and end the book and provide a frame for all the various memories. Hatoum combines a lush mix of Brazilian and Middle Eastern cultures with a poignant story and an impressionistic style. The Tree of the Seventh Heaven was first published in 1989 and won a prestigious Brazilian literary prize. Mary Ellen Quinn

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