Alexandra Chreiteh ألكسندرا شريتح is a Lebanese author who wrote her first novel, Always Coca-Cola [Dāyiman-- Kūkā Kūlā, 2009], while completing her undergraduate degree at the Lebanese American University in Beirut^[1]. Chreiteh has been reviewed and commended for the frankness of her writing, and for her portrayal of the barriers that women still face in the Arab world. In 2010 Chreiteh published her second novel, Ali and His Russian Mother [ʻAlī wa-ummuhu al-Rūsīyah].

Biography

Early Life and Education

Alexandra Chreiteh was raised in a religiously conservative region by her Russian mother and Lebanese father. Chreiteh completed her Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon^[2].

After being granted a graduate fellowship by Yale University, she began her PhD in Comparative Literature during the fall of 2009. While at Yale, Chreiteh has completed her Masters of Arts in Comparative Literature in 2012 as well as a Masters of Philosophy in Comparative Literature in 2013. She has also been teaching creative writing at Yale and expects to complete her PhD in 2015^[2].

Always Coca-Cola

Always Coca-Cola was the first novel Chreiteh wrote and has garnered much attention. She completed it during her time at the Lebanese American University, after drafting the story for an assignment in an Arabic creative writing class. When interviewed by the Lebanese American University for an alumni magazine article, Chreiteh said that she "wasn't trying to write something extraordinary-it's just the people you see every day"^[1]. Less than two years later, three publishers had made offers to print her book. ^[1]. It has been translated from Arabic into English by Michelle Hartman.

The book's protagonist is Abeer Ward, a college-age woman who is concerned with protecting her purity and closely following Muslim traditions. Her close friend and model, Yana, is pregnant out of wedlock, and Abeer attempts to help her. Yana's modeling career puts her into a soda ad that features her nearly naked body. Abeer witnesses and experiences many attacks on women's bodies which lead her to experience a coming-of-age moment.

Critical Reception

Always Coca Cola has been described by reviewers as a wonderful, humorous and sometimes sad journey through and around the forces menacing young women's lives and bodies in Lebanon and throughout the rest of the Arab world^[3]. Reviewers wrote that reading it was akin to "getting an electric shock" because problems the characters face reflect social anomalies in Lebanon that cannot be ignored^[1]. While many Lebanese novels address large-scale and bloody violence, Chreiteh's more intimate zone of conflict has resonated with readers and has shed light on issues that were not commonly spoken about, such as the objectification of women's bodies in the media and the stigma of having children out of wedlock^[3]. C

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References