100 pages • 3 hours read
Atia AbawiA Land of Permanent Goodbyes
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Part 1, Chapters 6-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 6 Summary
The next morning, Tareq awakens in Uncle Waleed’s house. His Aunt Nada is brewing coffee. Aunt Nada is married to Uncle Waleed, Fayed’s brother. Although they weren’t blood relations, Nada was very closer to Tareq’s mother, almost like a sister. Nada and Waleed have one son, Musa, who is just one year younger than Tareq. The small family is visibly impacted by the war, as all have grown thinner.
Nada tries to comfort Tareq, but he is having a difficult time. He has nightmares of the bombing at night and struggles with survivor’s guilt: “He felt guilty for even thinking about why his mother was gone but Musa still had his—but it was there, with all the other thoughts he tried to shake out of his head” (49). When Musa asks if Tareq can join him on a drive to the shop, Tareq seizes the opportunity to escape the house and “those sympathetic stares” (51).
