Anima

The narrative is divided into dozens of short chapters, each headed by the Latin scientific name of a different animal, bird, or insect that acts as the sole observer of that segment. This perspective remains strictly external to the human protagonist, meaning readers never get a direct look inside his mind until the final chapter, which is narrated by a human medical examiner.

While the story is primarily a road odyssey across North America, it is deeply informed by the author's Lebanese heritage and childhood experiences of fleeing the Lebanese Civil War. The final portion of the book directly excavates these themes, linking the protagonist's personal trauma to the historical atrocities of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

The novel has received widespread international acclaim, winning several prestigious honors including the French Prix Méditerranée, the Grand Prix SGDL Thyde Monnier, the Prix des Libraires du Québec, and the Catalan Llibreter Prize for Foreign Novel.