Year of the Revolutionary New Bread-making Machine

Lebanese author Hassan Dawud's novel, translated to the English. A poignant, wry portrait of a 1960s Beirut as it burgeons into the future.

Abu Ali and his brother have just moved to bustling 1960s Beirut. They spend their days sitting in the sun outside their traditional bakery, chatting with customers.

For the men working inside the bakery life is starkly different. Working endless shifts in the furious heat of the old bread oven, they fantasize about escape. Mohammed sings all day long in his beautiful tenor voice, while the others lean exhausted on sacks of flour and dream of becoming wrestlers.

When the brothers acquire their revolutionary new bread-making machine, the workers struggle to adapt to the new conditions, and one by one their dreams fade into oblivion ...

Hassan Daoud is chief editor of 'Nawafez', the cultural supplement for 'al-Mustaqbal' daily in Beirut. He has also served as cultural editor and contributed to various Lebanese national newspapers. His novels include 'The House of Mathilde', 'the Penguin's Song' and 'Borrowed Time'.