With more than 21,000 copies in print of  Women Of Sand And Myrrh, and more than  15,000 copies of The Story Of  Zahra, Hanan al-Shaykh is the best known and most  admired woman writer of the Arab world. The paperback  publication of Zahra will bring  this passionate and courageous novel to a much  larger group of readers. Its haunting story of a  young Lebanese woman who attempts to stem the  violence in Beirut by initiating a sexual liaison with a  sniper has "lifted the corner of a dark  curtain" (Sunday Telegraph )  from a world that fascinates us  all.