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Letters from Home: Stories of Fathers and Sons
Abstract
Because of their focus, historians cannot give attention to the life of the citizen who participated in major events: wars, famines, plagues, inventions, and births of nations. LETTERS FROM HOME: STORIES OF FATHERS AND SONS is a collecion of eight stories which provides insight into the lives of two men who lived through some of the most difficult periods in history, in one of the more temperamental places in the world. Rachid Abi-Nader (1879-1964) and Jean Abinader (1910- ) kept diaries and wrote letters which chronicled their lives. Both men were born in Lebanon, but their lives are classic in that they survived a number of wars and plagues. From their birth into the Ottoman Empire to their witnessing the formation of the Republic of Lebanon in 1926, they struggled to keep their families alive. This survival entailed their immigration to Brazil in the early part of the century and to the United States during the thirties. Each of the four sections contains two stories, one from Jean's diary and one from Rachid's. They are thematically connected and are introduced by a pertinent historical summary of the period. Five poems, one in each section, echoes the events and emotions of the writers. Photographs and maps are included as illustrations. The stories, "The Tales of Sheik Rachid," and "The Pact" concern the same event from two perspectives. They narrate the time Rachid was wanted by and hiding from the Turks. Jeans's story illustrates the family's struggle during their father's absence, and Rachid reveals his negotiations for his life. Other chapters include an encounter with a pirate on the Amazon, the death of Rachid's parents from Spanish flu, and Jean's participation in Lebanese nationalist movements. Although these stories are specific to the lives of Jean and Rachid, they serve to represent similar struggles which make up the history of the immigrants in this country.
Subject Area
Biographies|Creative writing
Recommended Citation
Abinader, Elmaz, "Letters from Home: Stories of Fathers and Sons" (1985). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8526582.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8526582