A Woman Laughs Inappropriately

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At the urging of his cousin, Yusuf, Ali leaves his hometown of Jaalan to work in a government ministry in Oman's capital city, Muscat. He is a conservative, quiet and dutiful young man and only wants to work to earn money to send home to his mother and sister.Soon, however, he encounters a disquieting scene when he walks in on the director and his secretary in a compromising position. For Ali this is a turning point, because he is unintentionally aroused from his humdrum existence.Then he meets May, and falls in love with her. Many months pass before the shy Ali can bring himself to ask May for her phone number, which she gives him. There follows a brief and intense romance that culminates in Ali asking May to marry him. She agrees but seems oddly reserved, and when Ali overhears some of the office workers making disparaging remarks about his background and his ‘mixed-race' status he realises he has nothing to offer May.In this eloquent, gentle and tragic book the author Nabhan Alhanshi explores the central theme of love, and lost love, in a way that will leave the reader mysteriously but ineffably altered. He voices those profound thoughts that affect us all in a way very few writers ever can.