Firefly is a searing portrait of the city of Beirut at the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in the early 1970s, as seen through the eyes of its simple, yet perplexing, protagonist, Nizam al-Alami. On Nizam’s national ID card, no religion is listed. Muslim by birth, he is Christian by baptism. As a young boy, he found his way into an orchard while playing, and its owners, Touma and Rakheema, instantly fell for him and agreed to raise him as their own, as a Christian, without much resistance from his Muslim parents.

The novel by Jabbour Douaihy (deceased) was translated by Paula Haydar and Nadine Sinno. Paula, an assistant professor in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Arkansas, will read from the translated edition and sign books. More information on Paula and her work is available on her faculty website.