Representations of the Lebanese Civil War and Peace in two Short Stories by Mai Ghoussoub

The present essay intends to explore some short stories by Mai Ghoussoub, from the collection Leaving Beirut (2007) which focus on the city of Beirut at the time of the civil war in the ‘70s and up to the ‘90s. Her works will be discussed taking into consideration ‘psychogeography’, and the ‘geopolitics of emotions’ as theoretical frameworks. The difficulty to reconcile one-self to one’s nation and one’s people, after a war, is particularly relevant here. In her stories, Mai Ghoussoub depicts the normality of a time of peace and the abrupt metamorphosis forced onto people by war, almost overnight. Her narratives confront, amongst other themes, exile, displacement and a vision of the motherland from abroad, since numerous intellectuals and artists migrated during or right after the war.