"This novel is Douaihy's most accomplished, subtle, and captivating."

– Livres Hebdo

The Lebanese author Jabbour Douaihy, professor of French literature at the University of Tripoli, immerses his reader in this city, especially in its American neighborhood, among the poorest, which he describes accurately. He explores everyday life, from the souk's stalls, to the cries of the vegetable vendors, these 'peasants who smell of damp earth in winter,' as well as the old sheikh, the soap and fish merchants, the baker who makes cheese galettes that one can eat standing up, 'against the wall, facing the colorful list of the names of the Prophet's'

The work of a remarkable writer...imbued with intelligence and humanity...deep empathy with those he writes about...Not only does Douaihy love his city, but...its people...His heroes, ordinary people, struggle in the middle of a story that extends beyond them, in search of a sense of dignity...

– Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, En attendant Nadeau

A novel the power of which many documentarians would envy...

– William Irigoyen, La Cite

Douaihy's writing is of extreme beauty, concise but full of life...with the fate of its characters intersecting and intertwining...'Transforming the mediocrity of everyday life' says Douaihy, 'is the miracle that writing can accomplish.' When it comes to The American Quarter, the miracle truly occurs'

– Eglal Errera, Le Monde des livres

With his masterly narrative skills, the author tells the story of Tripoli with great art, through a travel in time taking the reader back to the early twentieth century. Douaihy's characters are created in the city's spirit and its words, thereby creating the space where the story unfolds... This is the art of details, par excellence; details that Douaihy perfectly possesses, and with which he weaves a precise panoramic picture of the city of Tripoli.

– Al-Akhbar