Churchill: A Short Story of Contemporary Lebanon

This fictional story, inspired in part by real-life events, develops an episode in the life of Sarah, who comes from a family of modest means in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Sarah weds Ned Khoury, a self-made businessman whose Christian faith invites criticism in Sarah’s community. The marriage brings Sarah and her family financial stability, but it soon becomes clear that Ned’s interests lie elsewhere. Sarah learns she is a cover for Ned’s same-sex inclinations and later meets his lover Rayan, who offers her a feisty parrot—Churchill—as a companion. Ned introduces Sarah to his childhood friend, Dani, who seduces her. Sarah grows close to and later fetishizes Churchill, whose presence becomes essential to her lovemaking rituals. Meanwhile, Ned encourages and guides her as she forms her own network of partners. When Churchill dies, his skull mangled, his beak squashed in the heat of a moment, Sarah experiences a fleeting rapprochement with a slightly chastened Ned, but feels ashamed and no longer expectant when her affections are unreturned.